i|||iiii|!|iili!i!iiilj!ip;!i|;'fii^^ 




O 























.^.V^" 

^ 



0^ 









^^^ 









^^ ^^*^ <- "/ /, s^ A<^ ■ ^ '' 



^^.^G^ 






:^m{'^ 



o^\ 




"^.o* 



^r P^^J.>^^^^ 




../\*'°-°'V*\^. .,%;'—%<..., V'''-^*\%**-:,..,^= 
















'^^o^ 

i^. Q. 



V-"' 



■0 



.^" ^ 



,^o^ 









x\. 



> o_ ^ • , -1; 









-o'<^ 



^^^ 



,<^ ^ 












U' 






^ V • , -^ V ^ ^ * " ^ -^ V ^ ^ ^ " / -^ 






^ :^;^o»:'. %4 



























'%^0^ 












oV^ %- %^ 












.^^ 



^^i^: ^o I 
















:. "^^ 









•^. c^ " f^tttiS^; ^ '"^ q\ 



.^ 









%, '.^ .^ A^^ _ 9>. 



^ 

:^,- 












■^^0^ 


















^ f;rd<~^ 



.V 






■^^ - . 



- , V -^ \^^ 95, ^ . . -^ O?'^ ^Q, 



^ v\^.-o.% 



95.°^o 



^ ^ V^^^ 



V ^^^ ""^ %, 



9?. ' <. X 



LIFE OF 

AMOS A. LAWRENCE 



WITH EXTRACTS FROM HIS DIARY 
AND CORRESPONDENCE 



h'-f 



BY HIS SON 



WILLIAM LAWRENCE 







BOSTON AND NEW YORK "~ 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

1SS8 



I 






Copyright, 1888, 
B? WILLIAM LAWRENCE. 

All rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge : 
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Co. 






To 

MY MOTHER 

31 fnjicrfte 

THIS VOLUME 



PREFACE. 



In gathering together these fragments of 
my father's journal and letters, I have hoped 
to recall to his family and friends his charac- 
ter and presence. 

At the same time I have had another ob- 
ject in view. 

Living as he did in the stirring times be- 
fore and during the war and taking his part 
in the patriotic, social, commercial, and reli- 
gious activities, his experience has its practi- 
cal bearings and his example a close touch 
upon the life of every man who, like him, 
wishes to do his simple duty as a citizen. 
The record of his motives and work may, 
therefore, have an interest and inspiration 
which some may not find in the biographies 
of greater men. 



vi PREFACE. 

For assistance in this work I am indebted 
to a number of his friends, to the Diary and 
Correspondence of Amos Lawrence, and es- 
pecially to Professor L, W. Spring and his 
History of Kansas! 

W. L. 

Cambbidgk, January, 1888. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

1814-1881. 

PAGE 

Parentage. — Groton. — School Days in Bos- 
ton AND Andover 1 

CHAPTER IL 

1831-1835. 

Harvard College. — Rustication at Bedford 
and Andover. — Journey to Washington. — 
Senior Year 11 

CHAPTER III. 

1835-1839. 

Journey in the West and South. — Business. — 

Boston Society. — Fireman. — Religion . . 26 

CHAPTER IV. 

1839-1840. 

Europe. — Rome. — Florence. — England. — Ire- 
land. — Father Mathew 36 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

1841-1853. 

Marriage. — Mason and Lawrence.— Business 
Habits. — Charities. — Confirmation. — Rou- 
tine. — Cottage Farm. — Athletics. — Lynn. 
— His Father's Death. — The Lost Dau- 
phin. — Wisconsin. — Lawrence Univer- 
sity 49 

CHAPTER Yl. 

1854-1856. 

Kansas - Nebraska Bill. — Anthony Burns. — 
New England Emigrant Aid Company. — 
First Kansas Emigrant Parties. — City 
of Lawrence, Kansas. — Treasurer's 
Work. — Kansas Struggle. — Pierce and 
Atchison. — Dk. Robinson. — Sharps Ri- 
fles. — Abide by the United States Law 73 

CIL^PTER \^I. 

1856. 

Relief for Kansas. — Release of Dr. Robin- 
son. — Kansas Free. — Free State Col- 
lege. — Kansas Education. — Kansas Uni- 
versity 107 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1855-1859. 

John Brown. — Letter to Kansas. — Subscrip- 
tion FOR Farm, North Elba. — Harper's 
Ferry. — Letters to Governor Wise and 
Jefferson Davis 122 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER IX. 

1856-1861. 

Politics. — Nominated fob Governor. — As- 
sault ON Mr. Sumner: his reception. — 
Union P^^usty. — Again nominated. — Rou- 
tine. - Treasurer op Harvard College. — 
Agassiz Museum. — Journey in the South. — 
Eve of the War 139 

CHAPTER X. 

1861-1862, 

Crittenden Committee. — Zouave Drill. — 
First Call for Troops. — Offer of Ser- 
vice. — Border States. — Confederate Pris- 
oners. — W^VR Days 166 

CHAPTER XI. 

1862-1865. 

Second Massachusetts Cavalry. — Recruiting. — 
Negro Troops. — Sympathy. — Heavy Fight- 
ing. — Colonel Lowell's Death. — Close of 
THE War. — Returning Regiments . . . 183 

CHAPTER XII. 

Increasing Years. — Daily Exercise. — Horse- 
back. — Town Interests. — Public Spirit. — 
Development of Longwood. — Waban 
Farm. — Nahant. — Family Life. — Edu- 
cation of Children. — Kinship. — His 
Brother 207 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Memorial Hall. — Religious Activity. — 
Friendship with Clergymen. — Church 
Idea. — Habits of Worship. — Nahant 
Church — Church at Longwood. — Episco- 
pal Theological School. — Laavrence 
Hall 230 

CHAPTER XIV. 

1867-1882. 

In Europe. — Manufacturing. — Business Hab- 
its. — Loans and Charities. — Shadows in 
Life. — New Public Interests. — Memories 
OF Groton and Andover. — Drives and 
Visits. — First Family Break 246 

CHAPTER XV. 

1S82-1886. 

Pacific Mills. — Work for Temperance and 
Utah. — A Quiet House. — To Kansas. — 
Class of '3.5. — Death of his Brother. — 
Operation for Cataract. — Last Days . . 269 



AMOS A. LAWEENOE. 



I. 

BOYHOOD. 

1814-1831. 

On the morning- of the 19th of April, 
1775, Susanna Parker, who lived with her 
parents on the turnpike in Concord, caught 
sight of the British troops marching out from 
Boston, and running with her sister over the 
hill behind the house watched the gleaming 
of the muskets along the road. When the 
soldiers came back that afternoon, pursued 
by minute men and farmers, the girls again 
took refuge behind the hill, and on their 
return to the house found lying dead at the 
gate a handsome British soldier in his red 
coat. 

That same morning Colonel Prescott rode 
to the house of his neighbor, Samuel Law- 
rence, in Groton, and cried out, " Samuel, 



2 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

notify your men ; the British are coming." 
Mounting the colonel's horse, Corporal Law- 
rence rode seven miles, rousing the min- 
ute men of his circuit, and was back again 
in forty minutes. In three hours the com- 
pany was ready to march, and on the next 
day it reached Cambridge. 

At Bunker Hill, Samuel Lawrence re- 
ceived through his beaver hat a musket 
ball which cut his hair from front to rear, 
and was struck by a spent grape-shot upon 
his arm. After serving two years near 
Boston and in New York, he returned to 
marry Susanna Parker, to whom he had 
been engaged since early in 1775. But 
during the ceremony the signal was given 
to call all soldiers to their posts, and within 
an hour he left his bride to join his regi- 
ment at Cambridge. 

At the close of the war Major Samuel 
Lawrence and his wife settled down at the 
Lawrence homestead in Gi'oton. He at- 
tended to his duties as farmer, deacon, jus- 
tice of the peace, and trustee of the Acad- 
emy of which he was a founder, while she 
cared for the house and a family of six sons 
and three daughters. 

In 1807, the fourth son, Amos, with 



BOYHOOD. 3 

twenty dollars in his pocket, drove in his 
father's chaise to Boston and entered busi- 
ness. 

In a few years he and his younger brother 
Abbott founded the house of A. & A. Law- 
rence, which with a few other leading firms 
in Boston carried on her foreign commerce, 
developed the manufactures of Massachu- 
setts, and gave to that generation of Boston 
merchants a wide reputation for integrity 
and success. 

Amos, who was for many years an inva- 
lid, gradually surrendered the active business 
to the younger members of the firm and de- 
voted himself to philanthropic and public 
interests, while his sleigh, covered with boys 
and filled with books and clothing for the 
poor, was known by every one in town. 

Abbott, a man of fine physique and great 
activity, was the leading member of the firm, 
an influential representative in Congress, 
and a successful minister at the Court of St. 
James. 

The three other brothers, Luther, Wil- 
liam, and Samuel, rose also to positions of 
large responsibility in business and civic life ; 
so that when a manufacturing town rose on 
the banks of the Merrimac below Lowell, it 



4 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

was given by vote of the citizens the name 
of " Lawrence." 

In 1811 Amos Lawrence married Sarah 
Richards, the daughter of Giles Richards, a 
man of great ingenuity and of little financial 
wisdom. 

July 31, 1814, their second son was born, 
and given the name of his maternal grand- 
father, Amos Adams, who during the Revo- 
lution was the minister of the First Church 
in Roxbury. The mother lived long enough 
to leave with her two boys and daughter the 
memory of a sweet and lovely character ; and 
at four years of age Amos was sent, a mother- 
less boy, to the care of his grandmother and 
aunt Eliza, at the old homestead in Groton. 

In this town the descendants of John Law- 
rence of AYisset, county of Suffolk, Eng- 
land, had lived for several generations as 
farmers, soldiers, and leading citizens. The 
associations and picturesque surroundings of 
the place entered into the constitution of the 
growing boy and gave him a love for the 
scenery and farming life of New England. 

When on a visit to the homestead in his 
college days, he wrote : " Groton is a beauti- 
ful place, but in particular the old mansion 
farm exceeds almost any farming scenery I 



BOYHOOD. 5 

ever saw, excepting the valley of the Con- 
necticut. The house is west of the village a 
mile, and the farm extends a mile farther 
west to the Nashua. The slope to the river 
is gentle, but enough to give a beautiful view 
of the country for many miles from the high 
land by the house. The house is not lai'ge, 
a real farmer's house of the best sort ; that is, 
it is painted white, has green blinds, a front 
yard and a lai'ge old elm in front, and a 
front and two side doors. The barn is 
larger than the house, probably the best 
barn in the country, and well stocked always. 
The other buildings are arranged round the 
large yard at the side of the house, and 
just above is a pretty raised ground covered 
with apple-trees. They make ' lots of cider ' 
and gather good crops. The cattle always 
look fat and happy, and all is quiet and con- 
tentment. My old grandmother lives here 
still, and I hope will many years to come, if 
she does not prefer death to old age. My 
aunt [Mary] is a very pious woman, ' fiery 
hot ' as the countiy people call her, very 
Calvinistic in her faith and practice. But 
besides (and better), she is ' smart,' and 
knows well how to manage the homestead 
affairs. She finishes a great part of her 



6 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

work in the forenoon, and in the afternoon, 
knits, sews, reads, and attends some ' inquiry,' 
Bible class, or missionary meeting. A great 
deal of her money does she give to the poor 
heathen, and a great deal to poor Orthodox 
students. She is short in stature, brisk, and 
has a good face, but, peace be with her, she 
reads her Bible and is consistent with her 
belief." 

On the second marriage of his father in 
1821, Amos was brought back to Boston and 
sent to school in the basement of the First 
Church in Chauncy Place, on the same site 
that fifty years later was occupied by his 
counting-room and warehouse. For a year 
or two he was taught by Mr. William Wells 
in the rear of Trinity Chui^ch, Summer Street, 
and at thirteen years of age was sent to a 
private boarding-school in the North Parish, 
Andover, which in the fashion of those days 
was advertised under the ambitious title of 
" Franklin Academy." 

The boj^s in the boarding-schools of to- 
day little know what they have escaped by 
being born in the present generation. Mas- 
ter Putnam of Franklin Academy, famil- 
iarly called " Old Put " or " Old Hickory," 
represented a system of education which is 



BOYHOOD. 7 

more interesting in retrospect than in the 
realization. 

After a few clays at the school, Amos 
wrote to his father : " Mr. Putnam is subject 
to very bad headaches, which make him very 
cross and angiy : he scolds his wife and 
makes her cry, and makes the boys walk 
Spanish if they don't keep out of his way : 
he hit his son such a clip the other day that 
he was lame for a week. I never saw a set 
of boys that minded the master so well 
before. I find Mr. Putnam is very un- 
steady in his punishments, and more so, I 
should think, than a school-master ought to 
be, as he will beg a boy's pardon after using 
him badly when he finds he is going to write 
home." After this, we are not surprised 
that he adds, " I find a great deal of diffi- 
culty in not knowing the laws of the school," 
while an " N. B." at the end of the letter 
informs his parent that the under master 
" Mr. Pierce grows pretty strict now and 
gave me a pretty good wrench of my ear 
and hair." 

He soon grows less respectful in his refer- 
ences to the master, and speaks of " old Put 
in old Hickory style, with heavy tread, low- 
ered eyebrows and frequent hems, entering 



8 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

the school-room," and incidentally mentions 
" having some trouble with Mr. Hickory on 
Saturday, but he was finally cooled and be- 
haved well." 

The trouble did not end on Saturday, how- 
ever, for " a great many little items which 
plagued him and occasioned his having a 
great many tasks," and " eleven hours of 
study a day," and especially his hatred of 
Algebra as taught in Franklin Academy, 
drove young Amos, who was, as his fellow- 
pupils testify, a boy " whose self-respect was 
great," to seek his freedom in the woods of 
Andover and on the road to New Hampshire. 
In a day or two he was brought back, and 
after an humble apology to his father and 
the master he set about the arduous duty of 
obeying his father's request " to observe a 
strict conformity to the rules of the school." 

However, Mrs. Putnam and the fat kitchen- 
girl tempered the school with mercy and 
condoled with the boys in trouble. And the 
resources which served him through life, rid- 
ing on horseback, skating, the enjoyment of 
the beauties of nature, and an acute interest 
in people of all sorts, came to his aid in An- 
dover. These probably did as much towards 
the development of his character as the study 



BOYHOOD. 9 

of Euclid, the daily task of twenty pages of 
the Greek Testament, or the worship in the 
village church, where the singing was led 
by Captain Osgood at the " big viol," and 
the sermons were preached by " Rev. Bailey 
Loring, a just man and a Unitarian so 
called." Occasional allusions to mugs of 
sour cider, and the decanters at Jim Ste- 
vens' tavern, suggest that Master Putnam's 
"Tracts on Temperance" were needed at 
the school ; and in answer to a letter which 
he rather irreverently called a " Temperance 
Essay" from his father, Amos wrote, "To 
please you more than to allay any fear of 
mine, I will consent not to taste a drop of 
distilled spirit for two years ; then, if you 
wish, I will add four." 

The testimony of his school-mates sketch 
him as an active, " observing, and thought- 
ful boy, always affable, inviting implicit 
confidence in his good judgment and honesty 
of purpose, full of self-respect and respect 
for othei's," while letters and diary empha- 
size a pure-minded, restless lad, with a keen 
interest in the affairs of the world, and with 
maturity of thought as to the meaning and 
purposes of life. The boyish resolutions 
written before the sunrise of his last New 



10 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Year's day at school in 1831, suggest the 
spirit of his life : " to adhere to veracity, to 
use as much as in me lies pure and well 
spoken language, to keep a strict guard 
against vice and to cherish virtue, to talk 
sense or not at all." 



II. 

COLLEGE. 

1831-1835. 

In 1831 Amos entered Harvard College 
without conditions, donned the " University 
dress " then required of all students, — " the 
coat of black, single breasted, with a rolling 
cape square at the end, waist reaching to 
the natural waist ; " and, to quote from a 
classmate, he was soon " out on the Delta 
kicking football, full of laughter, and in a 
state of perpetual motion." 

" A man may be honest, active, brave, 
moral, and religious, and still no scholar," is 
the true but dangerous text with which the 
diary of his college life opens. 

In the spring term of the Freshman year 
there occurred one of those little episodes in 
which the students of a former generation 
sometimes indulged, namely, a gunpowder 
plot, followed by an explosion, " the refrager- 
ation of divers windows and the demolition 



12 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

of much movable stuff," a class rebellion, in- 
dictments before the grand jury, confession 
of the ringleaders, and a number of expul- 
sions, suspensions, and letters of advice to 
pass a few months in some quiet country 
town. Unfortunately Amos had lately 
bought some gunpowder for shooting, which 
he kept in his room. The j^lotters thought 
that stealing his powder was safer and 
cheaper than buying their own ; therefore, 
on the testimony of the shopkeeper, he was 
drawn into the investigation. He was, how- 
ever, acquitted of all guilt ; but the excited 
condition of the students made it advisable 
for the more restless spirits to rusticate for 
a few months. 

There soon followed a letter from Presi- 
dent Quincy to his father, who was at that 
time recovering, from a dangerous illness. 
" I entirely concur in your wishes to keep 
your son from ' every appearance of evil,' 
and under all circumstances I have thought 
it best to advise to take him away a short 
time, say until next commencement, and let 
him study under some fellow master. Your 
son has not been detected in any connec- 
tion with the disorders in the hall or in the 
chapel. Still, he is young, very susceptible, 



COLLEGE. 13 

and if in a thoughtless moment he should 
get into any difficulty, in your state of mind 
and health, it Inight be injurious ; perhaps 
more than you can bear. I think also the 
obligation to study, which an instructor, par- 
ticularly attentive to him, might impose, 
would be very useful to his future habits." 

The result justified President Quincy's 
wisdom and knowledge of the young man's 
character. With Mr. John F. Stearns of 
Bedford, a young Harvard graduate, as his 
tutor, Amos lived first at Bedford and then 
in the Mansion House on Andover Hill. 
Freed for the first time from chafing rules, 
he developed such a sense of responsibility, 
and such diligence in study, that from his 
own choice he prolonged his rustication from 
six to eighteen months. 

Always impatient at listless work, the 
school methods of study had irritated and 
distrusted him, and the following extract 
from his diary at this time is a leaf from 
his own experience : — 

" There is a method of study adopted by 
many that is highly injurious to mind and 
body, indeed it is worse than idleness : to sit 
down with books open, and the mind as un- 
tutored as the winds, to get a lesson ; to think 



14 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

of the lesson one moment, of the girls one 
more, and of home one more ; then two 
more of the lesson, and so to spend a day in 
a shameful waste of time. The body grows 
crabbed and crooked, and the mind grows 
empty and weak, and the whole man is de- 
stroyed by it. The habit may be contracted 
at school by boys, where they are obliged to 
remain a certain number of hours pent np 
in a room, not allowed to talk or look any- 
where except on their books. If Mr. Put- 
nam had comj^elled his boys to study five 
hours instead of leaning on their elbows 
eleven, he would so have habituated them to 
study that they would not have become such 
dunces as they are now." 

Sometimes the intense moral earnestness 
of his father's letters chafed him, and his 
filial respect was tinged with a little pleas- 
antry when, on receipt of an unusually long 
letter of advice, he answered : " The morality 
and general observations of your letters, 
disconnected from the other matters and 
printed, would make a very instructive vol- 
ume. When you compel us to shift for 
ourselves I think we may make a very good 
beginning by publishing a few copies of your 
miscellaneous works, and so benefit our 



COLLEGE. 15 

neighbors and replenish our pockets at the 
same time." " Your good advice has the 
advantage of your bills of exchange, inas- 
much as it is current everywhere ; if it 
could only be cashed, how fortunate we 
should be, and how soon we should spoil." 

Durino" these months he was ag^ain thrown 
into the scenery which he so much enjoyed. 
" What a vast space a man leaves empty 
who does not cultivate a taste for natural 
beauties," he then wrote. And though the 
old horse " appellated Doctor White " had 
" a back formed to shed the rain or to cut 
the air," yet " it was a pleasure to ride 
him." 

The study of the village characters and 
his interest in the town meetings, with their 
lively Orthodox and Liberal discussions, 
gave him that experience in affairs and that 
tact in meeting men of all classes which he 
felt was a part of the education of every 
American boy, and which served him well 
in later years. 

His practical sense was offended by the 
raising of a new meeting-house in Bedford ; 
for then, as he wrote, " we shall have three 
ministers (Orthodox, Unitarian, and Uni- 
versalist) for 690 inhabitants, 670 of whom 



16 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

have only the necessaries of life by hard la- 
bor. There are only 120 voters, of whom 
50 are tipplers, journeymen, shoemakers, 
heathen, etc. They can hardly support one 
minister, and sixteen would not convert 
them." 

Theological discussion was rife, and a 
young man of Unitarian education, thrown 
into the thick of the enemy's ranks at An- 
dover, was naturally set to thinking. For 
in those days, as he wrote to his father, 
" truth in Cambridge becomes a lie in An- 
dover, and the same of Andover truth when 
carried to Cambridge." 

Though it is hardly worth the while to 
follow him through the arguments by which, 
in a strong Andover atmosphere, he was 
led to record the fact, " I do not believe 
the Unitarian doctrine," yet it is suggestive 
of his independence and his dissatisfaction 
with both systems, that in Andover he first 
bought and studied the Book of Common 
Prayer. 

Other rusticated students found their way 
to Andover. " There is," he writes, " one 
who does nothing but smoke and eat. The 
divines smoke and eat too, but in subor- 



COLLEGE. 17 

dination to more important considerations ; 
a good argument, for instance, is more rel- 
ished than all the puddings for a terra." 
Still the solemnity of the theological stu- 
dents oppressed him, his tutor's health had 
begun to fail for want of something to laugh 
at, and he begged his father " to send up 
one or two comic almanacs to lend to the 
students as an act of charity." The life 
there led him to consider the question, 
" Which is the worst crime, intemperance in 
study or in drinking ? Both of them tend 
to shorten life and to embitter it ; both are 
suicides." 

An occasional ride to Groton and other 
towns varied the monotony. He attended a 
Concord celebration, where " Mr. Hopkinsou 
exerted himself to the uttermost. His de- 
livery was Cambridge precisely, and that is 
almost no delivery at all." But the great 
event was the visit of President Jackson, 
which he thus described : — 

" I went to Boston to see President Jack- 
son, who, with his Cabinet, has been making 
a triumphal tour, as it were, of the Northern 
States. The Bostonians honored him as 
much as he deserves, perhaps more. I saw 
the old gentleman first in a procession near 



18 A3WS A. LAWRENCE. 

the State House. His appearance struck 
me instantly with a kind of respect for him, 
it is so remarkable. He alone was imcov- 
ered, and displayed a head higher than those 
about him, and silvered with age. His hair 
is remarkable on account of its thickness, 
and his fashion of combing it back. He re- 
viewed the troops and showed himself an 
accomplished horseman. From Boston he 
went to Salem, thence to Lowell through 
Andover. I was one of the cavalcade here 
and had a very good sight of him. He put 
up at this house and ate a lunch of bread 
and milk in his chamber. Mr. Van Buren, 
Vice-President, dined in Mr. Skinner's par- 
lor, and so did Major Donelson and myself, 
and some other of the illustrious. We es- 
corted him out of town, took a stage coach 
and followed him to Lowell, wdiere we ar- 
rived just in time to see the famous proces- 
sion of factory girls. It consisted of three 
or four thousand, marching by fours. This, 
if nothing else, w^as a splendid sight for the 
old general." 

In the spring vacation of 1834, following 
his return to college, Mr. Lawrence, with his 
tutor, Henry R. Cleveland, and his classmate, 
Charles H. Gates, made a visit to Wash- 
ington. 



COLLEGE. 19 

Just before reaching Plilladelpliia they 
experienced for the first time the wonderful 
sensation of riding in a steam carriage, but 
the new invention did not seem to have 
brought civilization into the filthy streets of 
the Quaker city, in which a great number 
of " grunters " luxuriated. In Washington 
he found that the far-famed David Crockett 
reigned in the lobby ; that " Clay pestered 
Van Buren and then took two or three 
pinches of snuff from the Vice-President's 
snuff-box ; " that Van Buren was " a great 
gallant for one so small and old too." 

He was in the House when Mr. Adams 
presented a petition for the abolition of slav- 
ery in the District of Columbia. "At this," 
he wrote, " every Southern member took 
fire ; the most absurd resolutions were in- 
troduced, denouncing Mr. Adams as an 
agitator, an incendiary, and as offering gross 
insult to the House and to the feelings of the 
members of the South, in presenting such a 
petition. One resolution was to expel Mr. 
Adams, another was to bui'n his petition, 
and another to arraign him before the bar of 
the House." " If there ever was an eloquent 
speaker and an able debater, a good the- 
oretical philosopher, it is he. I never heard 



20 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

such argument expressed so eloquently be- 
fore, and never expect to again. He covered 
his opponents with ridicule, and excited the 
laughter of the House ; the effect you see 
in the vote and resolutions." 

Of course Mr. Webster filled the eye of 
a Massachusetts young man. " After Mr. 
Calhoun's second speech, Mr. Webster rose, 
and the effect was wonderful. His eloquence 
is appreciated because he seldom nowadays 
makes an exhibition of it. The members of 
the other House were crowded around the 
President's chair, and the Senators' seats 
and the galleries were full. But when Mr. 
Webster stood up, all was as still as though 
the hall was empty. He merely made a 
motion to adjourn till Monday, which had 
been made before by Mr. Buchanan." 

But the two features of Washington to 
the college student were Gadsby's Hotel 
and President Jackson. 

" Gadsby's Hotel is an immense building 
as large as a small town, so that the dinner- 
bell is in a belfry on the top, like that of 
a church. When this sounds, the crowds of 
boarders — a motley mass, collected from 
every State in the Union, and Christendom, 
we might say — move in an irresistible tide 



COLLEGE. 21 

toward the hall, and seat themselves every 
one in his chair, while clouds of black ser- 
vants stand behind in mute array. All look 
about to see who is there, and try to smell 
what lies hid under the covers. They snuff 
and rub their hands, take a drink of brandy 
and water, which is always on the table, and 
wait the word of command : the negroes' 
eyes twinkle for the same, and all of them 
wait impatiently for it, eying old Gadsby 
like eagles. He stands at the head of the 
board (an elderly, short, white-headed man), 
and when he sees his legions ready and all 
still, he braces up his shoulders, looks at the 
whole, and then at the waiters, opens his 
mouth, and raises his hand, then says ' Un- 
cover ! ' Then is the time to stop your ears, 
for every blacky leaps at all the covers 
within his reach, up they raise them with a 
stupendous flourish, and the air seems made 
of silver ; but look out and not turn your 
head too much, or the consequences may be 
fatal." 

" Our friend Mr. Franklin Pierce very 
kindly offered to carry us to see President 
Jackson." 

" It was his business hour, and we only ex- 
pected him to shake hands with us, and per- 



22 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

mit US to look througli his halls. We 
looked at his tobacco pipe and about the 
room till all was clear, and then Mr. Pierce 
ojjened the door and asked leave to intro- 
duce us. With that the gentleman arose, 
met us at the door and shook hands with 
us very cordially, and asked us to sit down, 
which we did and looked at him from head 
to foot, surprised to find ourselves so sud- 
denly in the presence of the great cause of 
so much dispute, honest and dishonest, that 
has divided this whole country. Here sat 
the grand mover of the machine that sup- 
ports some and crushes others. He ad- 
dressed himself almost wholly to JNIr. Pierce, 
thinking rightly, I suj^pose, that we came 
merely to see him. And, by the way, I for- 
got to say that Mr. Pierce, at our request, 
introduced us as members of Harvard Col- 
lege. The old man recollected the LL. D. 
he received here last year, and the device 
took, which accounts, I suppose, in some 
measure for the politeness with which he re- 
ceived us. But he is a very polite man, as 
everybody who is introduced to him finds, 
unless they come on bank business, or some- 
thing else he hates." 

On Mr. Lawrence's return to college his 



COLLEGE. 23 

classmates found him the same fun-loving, 
active, social man ; but his character had 
deepened and developed. He still chafed at 
the routine of college studies and kept his 
mind alert. He read with enthusiasm on 
subjects which interested him, and also made 
such studies and records of the characters of 
his classmates as show him to have reached 
a deeper sense of the responsibilities of life. 

The record of his own future, written 
early in his senior year, shows that his plans 
and principles were already formed, for they 
were carried out in action even to the least 
detail. 

" My present design is to be a merchant, 
not a plodding, narrow-minded one pent up 
in a city, with my mind always in my count- 
ing-room, but (if there be such a thing pos- 
sible) I would be at the same time a literary 
man in some measure and a farmer. That 
is, I would live in the country a few miles 
from town (excepting when devoted to busi- 
ness, which would be the forenoons), and 
there I would read and work on my farm. 
My advantages for becoming rich are great : 
if I have mercantile tact enough to carry on 
the immense though safe machine which my 
father and uncle have put in operation, it 



24 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

will turn out gold to me as fast as I could 
wish : and to be rich would be my delight. I 
consider it an oyster-like dulness, and not 
a pious or enlightened way of thinking, that 
makes some despise riches. If any one has 
any love for his fellow creatures, any love of 
the worthy respect of his neighborhood, he 
will be willing and glad to be rich. They 
say riches are a burden that harass the soul 
and lead into temptation : so they are to the 
miser who is in constant fear of losing his 
acquisitions, and to the profligate who re- 
ceives an inheritance merely to squander it 
on his jjassions. A good man will willingly 
endure the labor of taking care of his prop- 
erty for the sake of others whom he can so 
much benefit by it, but his thoughts and 
fears will not be perpetually on the alert 
that he may not lose a dollar and may not 
make all he can. If one can be rich and yet 
for his private ease will not be, he is almost 
as loving of himself as he who heaps up 
only to count his dollars, and refuses the 
demands of charity." 

At last the class of 1835 " all joined hands 
and danced around the Liberty tree, and in 
the afternoon they danced still more and 



COLLEGE. 25 

drank pails of punch. Then after a supper 
at Fresh Pond," they separated ; but to the 
last day of his life, Mr. Lawrence sustained 
an active interest in every classmate and re- 
ceived great satisfaction from their interest 
in him. 



m, 

FIRST YEARS IN BUSINESS. 
1835-1839. 

A FEW days after Class Day Mr. Lawrence 
was in Lowell, studying the mills. Soon he 
took a position with Almy, Patterson & Co., 
where he could learn the business of a dry- 
goods commission merchant, for by inherit- 
ance and opportunity that seemed to be his 
future line of woi-k. 

In July, 1836, being attacked with vario- 
loid, he was quarantined for several weeks at 
Rainsford Island. Soon after this, he went, 
in company with two business friends, on a 
journey through the West and South, to ex- 
amine credits for Boston firms just before 
the financial crisis of 1837, and to make busi- 
ness acquaintances through the country. 
Travelling b}'^ canal through Pennsylvania, 
they reached Pittsburgh in the height of 
the Presidential canvass. " Seeing a crowd 
around the dinner hall," Mr. Lawrence wrote, 



FIRST YEARS IN BUSINESS. 27 

"I went in, and found General Harrison 
making a speech about the abuses of govern- 
ment, his political course, and his designs 
if elected to the presidential chair. After 
this I was introduced to him. His right 
hand was disabled by shaking hands with so 
many people, but he still continued it not- 
withstanding the pain it gave him. The 
operatives were there in their shirtsleeves, 
unwashed and unshaved, and received great 
attention, and the boys loitering about the 
door were sure to be patted when the gen- 
eral came near them." 

Ohio was then near the frontier. " The 
population of Ohio is the most unmannerly I 
ever saw. There is no elegance, no good 
breeding in the country towns we have been 
in ; perhaps we ought not expect it. Troops 
of travellers and farmers come up to the 
door and dismount, take off their saddle- 
bags, and give their horses to the hostler. 
They take a glass of toddy and sit down in 
the bar-room till their dinner is ready, then 
light a cigar and get on their horses again, 
and so they jog over the country." 

Down the Mississippi they met the bor- 
der life. " We stopped at a town called Pa- 
ducah, and I went up to the shops on the 



28 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

bluff to get a pencil and see the town. The 
stationer's shop was well stocked with pis- 
tols, bowie knives, and tobacco ; perhaps 
there were books and paper in the drawers, 
but for lead pencils there were none except 
of solid lead covered with red paper, such 
as measurers of boards and timber use. I 
bought one, however." 

Looking for a church on Sunday in a 
small Kentucky town, they found a few 
scholars in a Sunday-school in a log-cabin. 
" The grog shops were open, and drunkards 
were lolling about. One or two were lying 
down in the street. There were two fights 
in the course of the day, and two fellows 
were stuck with knives." 

He wrote from Georgia, " the want of 
thrift among the farmers is beyond our com- 
prehension. This must arise from their 
ignorance of reading and writing, and con- 
sequently their want of facility of informa- 
tion. What I had imagined a Southern 
l^lanter is a very rare sight. I mean a well- 
educated gentleman." 

" We continually meet the caravans of the 
jilanters moving into Alabama. First comes 
a covered cart, drawn by mules and horses, 
from every corner of which peep the round, 



FIRST YEARS IN BUSINESS. 29 

■woolly heads of a dozen little negroes, all 
laughing (I believe a negro child never 
cries), except those who are asleep. After 
this one or two or three teams with furni- 
ture and more negroes, according to the 
riches of the 'mover.' Behind all, the 
family ride in their carryall and wagons or 
on horseback, and the grown negroes hunt 
squirrels along the woods or straggle along 
as their inclination leads them. Some of 
these processions are very ragged, but the 
negroes are dressed as warm as their mas- 
ters, and sometimes seem pretty much on an 
equality with them ; and deservedly so, for 
they know about as much." 

In Virginia, the condition was better. 
" The negroes in the countr}'^ appear healthy 
and happy and are always respectful. A 
planter or any white person passing a negro 
almost always nods, bids him a good day or 
inquires for his master, and a negro touches 
his hat or takes it off, if he is well bred, 
when he meets a carriage." 

On account of his father's retirement from 
active business, Mr. Lawrence did not have 
the opportunity for which he had hoped, of 
entering the office of A. & A. Lawrence & 
Co., and in time stepping into the position 



30 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

and success which that firm had won. But 
thrown back upon his own resources, he deter- 
mined to hew out his own path, and to suc- 
ceed or fail on his merits as a business man. 

Consequently he opened his own counting- 
room in a corner of the Phillips Building near 
Liberty Square, and for three years was a 
commission merchant for broadcloths, cassi- 
meres, and silks. His financial success was 
all that could be expected in the dull times 
following the crisis of 1837, but his first ob- 
ject evidently was to know business men and 
their methods and to gain a good mercan- 
tile reputation. That he succeeded in these 
would seem to be shown by the fact that 
within two years he was made a director of 
the Suffolk Bank and a member of the cor- 
poration of the Provident Institution for 
Savings, of which he became a trustee in 
1841. Through these and other associations 
he was thrown in with men of an earlier 
generation, which from a business view was 
to his advantage, but in later years tended 
to make him feel older than he really was. 

His life was much like that of any other 
intelligent young man who moved in the 
pleasant provincial life of Boston in the 
last generation. He received at his count- 



FIRST YEARS IN BUSINESS. 31 

ing-room the first of that line of beggars 
which was unbroken for fifty years, he 
rode his horse, and In the evenings either 
read, wrote an article for the paper, or joined 
a cotillon party at some hospitable mansion, 
where the brass-buttoned blue, olive, or claret 
coats of the gentlemen added a brilliancy 
and pictui'esqueness unknown to the present 
generation of black dress suits. 

With the other young men and women of 
the day he waxed enthusiastic over the lec- 
tures of Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Have 
heard an enchanting lecture from Mr. Emer- 
son at the Lyceum. It savored very much 
of Coleridge's doctrine, but was certainly the 
most beautiful and strong composition I ever 
listened to." " His mind is of a poetical cast 
and he likes metaphysics ; his philosoj)hy is 
admirable and his lectures are made more 
pleasing by a musical but manly voice and a 
very graceful delivery." " Have read Ralph 
Waldo Emerson's oration at Cambridge and 
delight in it. Reading his writings and, still 
more, hearing him speak is charming, it en- 
livens the soul and elevates it beyond all 
fear." " If his practice is as beautiful as his 
thoughts, if the nature of his thoughts is 
always the same, he must live very happily." 



82 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

In these years Mr. Lawrence had his first 
taste of public service. His journal records : 
" I am a fireman ; the old department re- 
signed, and we better sort of folks took their 
place. It was hard work for a few nights, 
but we have slept quietl}'^ now for a week. 
Fires two mornings in succession at four 
and six o'clock, long before daylight, down in 
India Street. I turn out with my engine." 

" A bad riot took place on Broad Street 
on Sunday between the Irish and the work- 
men, — the Irish beaten, their houses pil- 
laged, property destroj^ed, and some thirty or 
forty carried to jail by the Yankees. A mil- 
itary force was \n\t in motion after two or 
three hours and the confusion ended. I 
shouldered a musket and joined my company 
as a volunteer, and was kept on guard all 
night. William did the same. We ought 
to have a prompt force to act on the instant. 
I should like to be one to be drilled and 
armed and at the command of the mayor in 
an instant ; then these mobs would be down 
before they should disgrace our city by their 
violence." Later he adds: "Squad drill. 
We have a squad of 11. W. Dehon, C. II. 
Parker, T. Dexter, two Murdocks, Ingalls, 
H. Lee, Ch. Wild, etc. We meet over Fan- 



FIRST YEARS IN BUSINESS. 33 

euil Hall three times a week, and go through 
a drill under Sergeant Williams of the 
United States Army. My brother William 
got it up. I think it a shame for a citizen, 
a gentleman, not to know military move- 
ments enough to use a musket." 

At the same time his interest in religion 
deepened. On Sunday mornings he followed 
the habits of his father and uncles by attend- 
ing Brattle Street Church, where Dr. Lo- 
throp preached. In the afternoons his in- 
creasing interest in the Episcopal Church led 
him into St. Paul's, which was then under 
the ministration of Rev. J. S. Stone, D. D. 
Occasionally he would go to hear Dr. 
Channing, of whom he says : " He is dimin- 
utive in the pulpit, but his eye and counte- 
nance are full of spirit and determination." 
Fx'om this time there occurs in his diary the 
frequent record of those prayers and relig- 
ious aspirations which we find in the me- 
moirs of most religious lives, but which lose 
much of their reality and meaning in cold 
type. 

"Last night of the year 1837. 
"I thank my God, who has protected and 
blessed me and brought me to the close of 



34 ASfOS A. LAWRENCE. 

the year in peace and health. I have mis- 
spent a great deal of time and can only 
make new resolutions for the future, on 
which I implore Divine favor. Great God, 
regard me in kindness and illumine my mind 
with heavenly light that may I distinguish 
truth from error, and in the pursuit of truth 
give me perseverance. Save me and my 
friends from that anguish of mind which ac- 
companies fear. May I not fear any but 
Thee. 

" For Christ's sake pardon my sins, and 
may I always live so as to be willing to die. 

" Extend thy truth to the ends of the 
world and cause to cease violence and prej- 
udice, and hasten the time when religion 
shall possess all minds. Grant my prayer 
for Christ's sake." 

In 1832, Mr. Jeremiah Mason, who once 
divided the leadership of the Portsmouth 
bar with Daniel Webster, had been induced 
by his brother-in-law, Mr. Amos Lawrence, 
to remove to Boston and become his near 
neighbor. In 1838 the marriage of their 
children, Susan Lawrence to the Rev. Charles 
Mason, Rector of St. Peter's Church, Salem, 
bound the two families by a closer tie, which 



FIEST YEARS IN BUSINESS. 35 

was strengthened a few years later by the 
business partnership of the two sons, Robert 
M. Mason and Mr. Lawrence. 

In December, 1838, occurred also the mar- 
riage of Mr. Lawrence's only brother, Wil- 
liam, to Susan Dana, who, as Amos wrote, 
" by her simple manners, her good sense, and 
her personal beauty has won the hearts of 
all who have seen her." 

Through 1839 the business of the country 
was very unsettled, and the United States 
Bank suspended specie payment. So Mr. 
Lawrence decided to take this opportunity 
to close up his business and to go to Europe. 
In company with his brother-in-law, Charles 
Mason, he sailed on November 16, in the 
" Great Western." 



IV. 

EUROPE. 

1839-1840. 

Those long, descriptive letters which our 
fathers wrote from Europe, and which were 
read in the family circle and passed on to 
the neighbors, have lost their value as com- 
pletely as the rejected newspaper articles of 
the same period. Nevertheless, there was 
often a personal element in them which shed 
light on the tastes and interests of the wri- 
ters. Passing through England, Mr. Law- 
rence experienced that " feeling of home " 
which a common blood and language create 
in every intelligent American. 

His method in sight-seeing and his prac- 
tical sense are suggested in the letters to his 
father from Rome : — 

Rome, A2yril 16, 1840. 

Dear Father, — ... In order to have 
a correct idea of Rome one must refer more 
to books than is necessary in any other city ; 



EUROPE. 37 

on this account I have spent till twelve 
o'clock every day except during- the Carnival 
in reading", and from that till iive o'clock in 
visiting everything to which I could obtain 
admission. 

. . . There are forty or more Americans 
here, whom I have not seen often, thinking 
it rather a waste of time to spend it in visit- 
ing those one sees at home. There are sev- 
eral promising young artists among them 
studying their profession, particularly a 
young man named Crawford, who has sud- 
denly executed a piece of sculpture of the 
highest order almost without tools to work 
with. His poverty induced him to make too 
great exertions, and when he had completed 
his work he was seized with a fever, which 
attacked his brain, and came near ending his 
life. He is now almost recovered, and very 
much encouraged by the praises which are 
bestowed on his work. Mr. Greene has 
made a subscription jiaper for money to en- 
able him to execute it in marble, and in the 
mean time he has received several orders for 
basts, which he executes with great quick- 
ness, and transfers to marble with jrreat 
beauty. He will soon have the means of 
accomplishing his main work, and as soon 



38 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

as it is finished it will be sent to the United 
States for exhibition and sale. The young 
man is very pleasing in his apjDearance, and 
is a hard student, so that with his genius for 
this art he will sooner or later succeed. . . . 
The cause of the poverty of this country is 
not that the land is not cultivated, nor that 
the people are unwilling to work ; but that, 
having become too numerous for the land, 
a great proportion must be idle, at least a 
part of the time. If mechanic labor were 
encouraged, the difficulty would be obviated, 
as they could then export the product and 
receive an equivalent, and like England 
grow rich : but the policy of the govern- 
ment of the Church is so far very bad, and 
the encouragement to laboring men to leave 
their homes and travel hundreds of miles as 
pilgrims, not only not doing themselves any 
good, but using the money of the people 
through whose territory they pass, the estab- 
lishment of so many holy days when work 
is discouraged, the monopolies which cramp 
trade, all lead one to believe that the design 
is to make the people dependent by not giv- 
ing them means of getting rich. 

His accomit of the drive from Rome to 



EUROPE. 39 

Florence gives a graj)hic sketch of Italy 
fifty years ago : — 

Flokence, May 4, 1840. 

... I never had a more agreeable jour- 
ney than from Rome, arriving here a week 
ago, and never was in a more delightful city 
than this. 

" The first day we rode through a fertile 
country of hill and valley, stopping at Monte 
Rosa and Nepi, all old fortified towns, to 
Castellana, where we spent the first night. 
At sunset I strolled out to see the environs, 
and the people after they had finished their 
day's labor. It was a fine sight from the de- 
cayed walls to look down five hundred feet 
to the river winding through a deep ravine, 
on the other side of which green meadows, 
covered with luxuriant vegetation, stretch out 
many miles to the mountains. We follow 
the green almost to the tops, which are cov- 
ered with snow. The laborers were return- 
ing from the fields to the town in groups, 
toiling up the ascent to it by narrow wind- 
ing paths, the women were all in the streets 
or on the heights waiting for them, and the 
children were running and crawling in every 
direction. All were gay, all dirty ; one can- 
not be in bad humor after seeing so much 



40 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

contentment in so great poverty. A post 
carriage with four horses was passing the 
immense stone bridge, and two guards who, 
according to the old custom, accompany it, 
were riding up the hiU. The goatherds 
were driving their goats into the town to be 
milked ; the bells of the two convents were 
ringing; the soldiers of the little garrison 
were strolling about, smoking their pipes, or 
playing at some game on the parapets ; and 
the whole scene reminded me of some of the 
descrijjtions given by Mrs. Radcliffe in her 
novels ; probably it was very much the same 
two hundred years ago as now. I turned 
into the town again, and hearing music, I 
went into the cathedral. There were lights 
around the altar, but the rest of the church 
was almost dark, and one could not distin- 
guish the faces of those kneeling ; a faint 
lio'ht was sometimes thrown over the grim 
effigies which ornament the tombs of the 
crusaders and the bishops who died hun- 
dreds of years ago, and the old Gothic and 
Saracenic architecture could hardly be 
traced. After listening to the monotonous 
chant of the priests I proceeded toward the 
" Albergo Reale," where I was to pass the 
night. I had not gone far before I was star- 



EUROPE. 41 

tied by a loud voice calling to me, " for the 
love of God, to give help to a poor soul in 
prison." I looked up and saw just above me 
a heavy grating, through which an ugly look- 
ing fellow had thrust his head ; he put his 
hand out at another opening, and repeated 
his prayer in a hideous tone, but changed it 
to a hearty curse when I turned away from 
him, and the guard, coming up with his mus- 
ket, stopped his prayers and curses together 
by a stroke of his bayonet, which forced him 
to draw his head into his cell again. This is 
a specimen of what one meets within all the 
towns : gayety, poverty, devotion, villainy, 
and soldiery. 

Returning through England, he caught a 
glimpse of the men of that day. 

Boston, Old England, August 1, 1840. 
Dear Father, — One day I went upon 
the floor of the House of Lords, where I 
was almost among the debaters : Lord 
Brougham was talking next to me, the chan- 
cellor of the exchequer, etc. The Duke of 
Wellington went fast asleep ; he appears 
quite old and has had several strokes of 
paralysis, so that the country will probably 



42 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

before long mourn his loss. But he is not 
any older in his feelings than other men. 
He comes into the House dressed in white 
linen pantaloons (in a cold day), a military 
undress coat, white waistcoat and cravat, 
with a riding whip in his hand. Like most 
of the members he keeps his hat on, and 
sleeps more than any of them. I noticed 
that he staggers somewhat in his walking, 
but when he mounts his horse he sits firmly 
and looks remarkably well, so that if you 
did not know who he was you would turn to 
look at him. Lord Melbourne reminds me 
of Mr. Van Buren. He evidently goes into 
the House, as they say in college, " on tick ; " 
that is, he has so many things to attend to, 
loves his ease so well, and has such ready 
talents, that he trusts to luck and to his 
wits to get through with the business. 
Your affectionate son, 

A. A. L. 

The misery in Ireland appealed to his ten- 
der sympathies, while the temperance cru- 
sade of Father Mathew aroused his enthu- 
siasm. 



EUROPE. 43 

Athlone on Lake Ree, September 5, 1840. 

Deak Father, — The country of Ire- 
land is in many parts beautiful, but of the 
wretchedness and suffering of the people, 
one who has not seen it can hardly form 
an idea. To say that they are all ragged 
would be less than the truth ; the disease 
and almost nakedness seen in this cold cli- 
mate renders the journey unpleasant, and 
prevents all enjoyment. To see ragged peo- 
ple is not so bad, after one has been in 
Italy, as the sight of pale women and chil- 
dren, haggard men, and crippled boys, with- 
out any means of living, or even of being 
sheltered. This is so universal, and the 
loathsomeness of disease so perpetually 
thrust before a stranger, that I believe it 
would be impossible for a woman, or any 
person of delicate feelings, to travel in some 
parts where I have been. One is surprised 
and incensed at the supineness of the Eng- 
lish Parliament and ])eople, as well as the 
Irish nobility and proprietors, in not feiding 
more for these 7,000,000 of their fellow- 
beings, and at their love of power, which 
impels them to hold under taxation a coun- 
try suffering to such extremity. To be a 
Radical is natural enough when one sees 



44 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

such an abuse of power, and to hope for 
a revolution or war which will overthrow 
this system of government is not unreason- 
able in the Irish. The police is seen every- 
where, and the support of this, with the 
army, which is distributed through the coun- 
ties, the Lord Lieutenancy and his court in 
Dublin, together with the Church of Eng- 
land which is planted everywhere, is enough 
to drain them to the last drop. This you 
know all about, but I supposed that the ac- 
counts we get might have been exaggerated 
for political effect, and I am glad to have 
seen exactly the truth, which cannot be 
known from the public journals. 

But the most singular thing is the tem- 
perance revolution, and the wonder of the 
age is Father Mathew. I have heard and 
seen him very satisfactorily, and think with 
his audiences that it was the greatest 
spectacle I ever witnessed. To-day I sat 
very near him by means of Father O'Reilly, 
and not only saw the whole, but took notes 
of all his sermon, which was excellent. He 
is a good looking man about forty-five, florid 
face, curly black hair, and a Roman nose, 
with a good-humored expression. He was 
rather late, owing to the pressui*e of the 



EUROPE. 45 

people, but when he stepped upon the plat- 
form, every voice was hushed and all eyes 
fixed upon him. I£ he had been an angel 
from heaven he would not have commanded 
more attention. I never saw anything like 
it before. The band of music played a 
hymn, during which he stood leaning on the 
altar, looking over the immense concourse, 
without seeming to feel any awkwardness 
or any desire to make a display. His dress 
was a white robe with gold around the neck 
and on the streamers in front, and his whole 
appearance, was elegant and pleasing. Some 
poor cripples, who had been laid inside the 
railing, were kneeling as well as they could, 
and muttering their prayers to him, of which 
he took no notice. After the hymn he stood 
out more in front, and delivered his text and 
sermon, without book or notes. This was 
sensible and suited to the audience, who 
showed their approbation by frequent re- 
sponses and prayers at the end of the sen- 
tences. This lasted half an hour, during 
which time I do not think there was a dry 
eye in the whole assembly, and many were 
sobbing aloud, I could not tell why, except 
for the excitement. He then retired, and 
the meeting adjourned to a large open place, 



4G AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

called the Battery, on the outskirts of the 
town. Here on the rising- ground he ad- 
dressed them more particularly on the sub- 
ject of temperance, and administered the 
pledge ; the rush to take this was almost 
fearful, so that the one or two hundred cit- 
izen constables were obliged to lay about 
them with their poles, to prevent being over- 
throwai, and some were seriously injured. 
Father O'Keilly and some others near him 
constantly shed tears at this sight, which 
was extraordinary indeed. For a long dis- 
tance around, the hills were covered with 
people, dressed in their best clothes (which 
are not very good). The women with their 
white caps and bright red cloaks gave a gay 
appearance to the whole. But the most 
striking feature in the scene was the sick ; 
these were brought on carts and in litters, 
and were laid about everywhere upon the 
grass ; their friends were lifting some up 
on their shoulders, that the sight of the 
Father might cure them ; some were too 
weak to hold up their heads, and made a 
ghastly appearance as they were raised up 
to the light ; some seemed in the last stage, 
and required all the attention of their rela- 
tions. It was a touching scene to see the 



EUROPE. 47 

eager anxiety of the mothers and sisters, 
and to hear their prayers for their sons, 
husbands, and fathers. One was carried 
back to the times of the Apostles, and could 
hardly realize that he was not listening to 
some inspired person. After seeing the ad- 
ministering of the pledge (which is kept 
much more sacredly than in the United 
States), I went around to hear the conversa- 
tion of the people, and to ascertain if possi- 
ble how they were affected. I found they 
were talking of the death of a man in Dub- 
lin, who had broken the pledge, and run mad 
(which was correct), the discourse, and the 
cures. " It is indeed wonderful," said a 
country proprietor named OFerren, with 
whom I became acquainted, " how these 
cures take place ; the only encouragement 
Father Mathew has ever given these poor 
invalids is that he will pray for them, and 
yet they believe he can cure by his word or 
touch, and I know of two boys who wei'e 
made well in an hour after taking hold of 
his robe." Seeing three decent -looking men 
talking together, I asked one if any person 
had been cured to-day. " I know only one," 
said the man, "but I presume there are 
more." " Have you seen the person ? " said 



48 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

I. " Seen him ! and have n't I seen him 
these three j^ears every day, and never knew 
liiin walk a step, and isn't he there now 
jumping about with them boys yonder?" 
There was no resisting such evidence as this, 
and as the boy disappeared in the crowd 
I had no opportunity of disbelieving. I 
asked a poor woman, who had brought her 
son ten miles on her back, if she noticed any 
change in him. " Not yet," she said ; " if 
it 's God's will, he will be cured ; we can- 
rot have all we ask for. I hoj)e Father 
Mathew's prayers may prevail, or at least 
the sight of such an inspired man may do 
him good." More than a million adults 
have taken the pledge, and it is very seldom 
broken ; many say there never has been but 
one case, — that of the man in Dublin who 
died, — which shows that there have been 
but few. Those who take it receive a medal, 
which they wear around their necks, and 
many consider it a kind of charm. Father 
INIatliew's likeness is hung in every cot- 
tage. . . . 

Your affectionate son, 

A. A. L. 



V. 

FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 
1841-1853. 

On his return from Europe Mr. Lawrence 
immediately took up the activities of busi- 
ness and society. But he soon felt that the 
attachments and sympathies of a home were 
needed to fill out his life. His journal re- 
cords more and more frequent visits to the 
house of Mr. William Appleton, to whose 
daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, he soon became 
engaged. On March 31, 1842, they were 
married, in Mr. Appleton's house on Beacon 
Street, by the Rev. A. H. Vinton, who had 
just taken charge of St. Paul's Church. 

Soon after, they moved to Pemberton 
Square, which was their home until his love 
for the country drew Mr. Lawrence and his 
family outside the city limits. 

About a year after his marriage, Mr. 
Lawrence made an important change in his 
business relations, and from that time he 



50 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

seems to have really felt that he had seized 
upon his life work. His journal gives the 
record of the formation of his business firm. 

" May 18, 1843. Eobert Mason and my- 
self have decided to make a partnership and 
run for luck to get the Cocheco Company." 

" May 26. The Directors of the Cocheco 
Company voted to give their business to 
Mason & Lawrence to-day. I have spoken 
for some signs and written to Robert to come 
on here." 

" May 29. Signed articles of copartner- 
ship with Robert Mason. I deem this a 
highly important step in my career, and I 
pray that I may be true to the new duties I 
have undertaken, and may not allow indo- 
lence or timidity to hinder me from taking 
my full share of the labor which will fall 
upon me. I know that our success depends 
very much on our own efforts, and I trust 
that if it should come, I may not forget my 
duty in using it, not for my own aggrandize- 
ment, but for the advancement of Christ's 
kingdom upon earth. I hope to look to 
God for strength and for success ; on Him I 
will lean." 

Like every good business man, Mr. Law- 
rence believed strongly in system ; the whole 



FIRST TEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 51 

concern, even to its smallest details, should 
run like a machine ; but he also believed in 
placing trustworthy men who were in sympa- 
thy with his methods, in the responsible po- 
sitions. Having found his men, he gave 
them liberal salaries and large freedom of 
action. He was thus able to reduce the 
length of his business hours ; and his judg- 
ment of ability and character was such that 
he soon drew about him men who remained 
for many years. After three years of active 
partnership, Mr. Mason was obliged by his 
wife's health to pass most of his time in Eu- 
rope, so that upon Mr. Lawrence fell the 
management of the firm's business. Mr. 
H. B. Mather, who was taken into partner- 
ship a few years latei-, took fvdl charge of 
the accounting department, and was, until 
his death in 1884, a faithful assistant. Mr. 
J. D. W. Joy was also a partner for four- 
teen years, retiring in 1866. 

The Cocheco Company, of which Mason & 
Lawrence were the selling agents, was a cor- 
poration for the manufacture and printing 
of cotton cloths, and at that time was losing 
money heavily ; very soon after the change 
of management, Mr. Lawrence was able to 
report that " the company had made six per 



52 A3rOS A. LAWRENCE. 

cent, on the capital stock in the past six 
months." Soon the success was such that 
the firm organized the purchase of the Sal- 
mon Falls Company, and, increasing the 
stock to $300,000, rebuilt the mill. 

The selling agency of these two mills Mr. 
Lawrence held for over forty years, during 
which the works of both corporations trebled. 
During most of that time he was director 
in both corporations, and for some years was 
treasurer of the Salmon Falls and president 
of the Cocheco. 

With the first directions to the agent 
at Salmon Falls went this letter from Mr. 
Lawrence, which suggests his interest in the 
welfare of the mill-hands : — 

" The accompanying pamphlet represents 
the growing evils which attend the increase 
of a manufacturing town so clearly, that it 
reminds one of the importance of beginning 
right in Salmon Falls. I hope you will keep 
your attention directed to this point; and 
if any measures are required to prevent 
their occurrence, beyond what have already 
been taken, please to suggest them. In re- 
gard to religious instruction, it seems to me 
that if our church does not produce the de- 
sired interest, either from want of talent in 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 53 

the preacher or from prejudice against the 
forms, there must be some kind of preaching, 
and some form adopted, which will ; " and 
later, he records, " Went to see the Bishop 
this week about sending a Roman Catholic 
clergyman down to Salmon Falls to look 
after the spiritual interests of the girls, of 
whom one third are Irish." 

Mr. Lawrence's resolution in college not to 
be a plodding, narrow-minded business man 
was a principle for life. Charitable and 
public interests had their immediate claim 
upon his attention, and before he was able to 
respond largely with money he gave his time. 

For six years he was a trustee of the 
Massachusetts General Hospital, and took 
great interest in his regular visits to the 
Hospital and McLean Asylum. 

His work for the colonization of free 
blacks in Liberia brought frequent applica- 
tions to his office. " A good-looking black 
preacher," he records in his journal, " came 
to get some money to free his family of eleven 
and take them to Liberia. He required 
$6,000. He had just heard of the death of 
his youngest daughter and his heart was ten- 
der. I found a tear in my own eye, and he 
took my hand as he went out, saying, *I 



54 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

think you are ray friend,' which quite choked 
me up. Such cases grow more frequent." 

" Went round last evening with Bishop 
Mcllvaine of Ohio, begging for his institu- 
tion." 

" The Young Men's Benevolent Society 
chose me president again." 

" Forenoon, went to police court with Mr. 
Stone to prosecute a man for inhumanly 
beating his horses." 

" Very busy all day with the subscription 
book for an Episcopal City Mission Chapel : 
succeeded pretty well." 

The following characteristic letter suggests 
the memory of a unique and kindly character, 
familiar to every Harvard student of the 
last generation. 

TO PROFESSOR SALES. 

Boston, December 31, 1852. 
My dear Sir, — Will you accept the 
above (check for 150.00) as a New Year's 
present from one of your old scholars, who 
though he did not learn much Spanish, could 
not help learning to love an instructor so 
disinterested, so kind, so gentle, so playful, 
and yet so venerable. May God grant you, 
my dear sir, all his consolations here and 
hereafter. With great regard, 

Yours very truly, A. A. L. 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 55 

A mixed education in Unitarianism and 
Orthodoxy is not usually conduciv'^e to a set- 
tled faitli, and is more likely to lead to argu- 
ment than to piety. Mr. Lawrence had 
passed through the argumentative phase, and 
as a result had written, " Would that I 
had a Creed ; " but that deep and sincere 
faith which was found in the Unitarianism 
as well as the Orthodoxy of that day was Mr. 
Lawrence's by inheritance, education, and 
conviction. His devotional spirit had sent 
him to the Prayer Book, which led him into 
closer sympathy with the Episcopal Church. 
The result is seen in the record of his 
journal. 

" May 29, 1842. To-day we were both con- 
firmed at St. Paul's Church by Bishop Gris- 
wold. There were forty-three others ; among 
them my brother William and his wife and 
Marianne Appleton. Our pastor. Dr. Vin- 
ton, has labored very successfully. God has 
poured out his Spirit over the whole country, 
and there seems to be a universal revival. I 
pray that we may not either of us ever be 
led astray by the allurements of this world 
and forget our God and Saviour." 

His practical spirit immediately led him 
to take hold of the church work. 



56 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

" Sunday. Went to Sunday-school, St. 
Paul's : shall have a class next week, of 
poor children if I can get them. It seems 
to me the good done by Sunday instruction 
away from home may be very much in- 
creased by taking the poor. 1. It teaches the 
others that the poor are as good as themselves 
and may attain even higher moral excel- 
lence. 2. If brought together in such away 
as not to wound the pride of the richer, there 
will probably spring up a sympathy for the 
poorer. 3. It will prevent the jealousy which 
springs up in the minds of the poor, or at 
least diminish it. 4. It will make them en- 
deavor to resemble the rich in their good 
manners and refinement. 5. The acquaint- 
ance made at school will often be the cause 
of their advancement in their trades from 
the interest which naturally continues for 
schoolmates, especially those who have im- 
bibed together religious sentiments." 

A few days after moving into Pemberton 
Square he writes, " Yesterday I had a num- 
ber of poor boys in the lower parlor, whom I 
hope to teach something. They live about 
Hatter's Square, are Catholics and cannot 
all read, and are pretty dirty. They promised 
to come again Sunday morning, and I have 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 57 

purchased a little bundle of books for 
them." 

The week-day evening lecture at St. 
Paul's, as well as the two Sunday services, 
were to him as important as any business 
enoaorement. The followinsj extracts from 
his journal and from a letter to his old 
schoolmate, William Le Baron, suggest the 
record of these active and happy years. 

"February 17,1850. . . . My attention is 
so much taken up with business during the 
week that I find it very difficult to give it to 
the more important duties of Sunday. My 
mind runs away from its devotions to the 
plans of business and various engagements. 
I pray God to forgive my frivolity and 
weakness, and help me to think more of 
spiritual things. By way of ascertaining 
whether I have not assumed more responsi- 
bility than is consistent with a proper regu- 
lation of the time and the thoughts, I have 
enumerated them as follows : 1. My busi- 
ness of commission merchant with a large 
establishment, clerks, etc., and but one part- 
ner. 2. Office of treasurer of a large manu- 
facturing corporation with a capital of a 
million of dollars. 3. Director in ten cor- 
porations : some of them very large, viz, : 



68 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Suffolk Bank (eleven years) ; Massachu- 
setts General Hospital ; Cocheco Com- 
pany ; American Insurance Office ; Boston 
Water Power Corporation ; Amesbury Com- 
pany ; Middlesex Canal ; Massachusetts 
Bible Society ; Massachusetts Board of 
Domestic Missions; Groton Academy. 4. 
I have charge of all my father's property ; 
also Mrs. Luther Lawrence's and Mrs. 
Seaver's. 5. Of my own property ; includ- 
ing lands in the West, the building of a 
Seminary and a town (Appleton) in Wis- 
consin, which is a complicated business. 
Then there is the business of receiving and 
paying visits, which I do only as much of as 
is necessary. The membership of various 
societies requiring some attention ; besides 
my daily duty of giving two hours of day- 
light to the business of getting exercise 
enough to keep my body sound. Some 
trusts I have given up, but others come in to 
take their place. Is not this too much for 
one who would improve his mind and his 
heart, and keep himself ready for a change 
of scene, and an entrance into the spiritual 
world ? Can one be prepared for higher du- 
ties when the mind is filled continually with 
such thoughts as all these things entail ? " 



FIRST FEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 59 
Boston, October 4, 1850. 

My dear Le Baron, — ... Nine years 
ago I was married to one of the fairest, and 
one of the least frail, of Eve's frail daugh- 
ters, Miss Appleton, who has borne me four 
children, two boys and two girls ; thank God 
all are living, and they form, with their 
mother, as happy a family as the world eon- 
tains. Fortune has never frowned badly, 
for I have seldom tempted her : so far it has 
been pretty much sunshine, at least for the 
last few years. Not having aspired to fame 
or great wealth, I am not disappointed. 
My family is too dear to me to allow me to 
pursue the first, and I am well enough off 
to be above the temptation of avarice. In 
the summer I have lived in the country, and, 
if my life is spared, I hope by another year 
to make my home there, coming to town 
every day. In politics I am a moderate 
Whig, in religion an Episcopalian, and a 
very indiiferent follower of our blessed 
Master, through whose merits alone we must 
be saved, if at all. Your friend, 

A. A. L. 

From his college days Mr. Lawrence had 
wished not to live "pent up in the city," 



60 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

but " in the country a few miles from town." 
In his afternoon rides he was on the watch 
for a suitable home, and after two daughters 
and two sons were born, he felt that it was 
time to carry out his desire. About two 
miles from Boston, by way of the Mill-dam, 
was a tract of about ninety acres owned by 
Mr. Ebenezer Francis, which, on account of 
the one house then standing there, was called 
" Cottage Farm." It adjoined a large tract 
owned by Mr. David Sears, who had named 
it "Longwood" after the place on St. Hel- 
ena where Napoleon died. This Cottage 
Farm near Longwood Mr. Lawrence with 
his brother bought, and on his half he built 
a stone house in English cottage style, which 
from 1851 until his death was his homestead. 

The lawn on the south and west was re- 
lieved by a gi-ove of oaks on the north, 
while on the east was the garden, stocked 
in later years with a large variety of fruit, 
which in the autumn mornings was distrib- 
uted to friends and neighbors by Mrs. Law- 
rence on her way into Boston. 

His first act on taking possession of his 
house was characteristic. " 1851, October 5, 
Sunday. A week ago last Wednesday I first 
sat at my own table in my own new home. 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 61 

My family not having moved here fi'om Mr. 
Appleton's, I was alone. My man, James, 
who had come from his farm to live this 
winter with us, had set the table: he had 
placed my chair so that I looked out upon 
the beautiful scene at two windows. As 
there was no one to sit down but myself, I 
did not say grace aloud, though I did feel 
the importance of the change which I had 
made, and was thankful for having been per- 
mitted to make so auspicious a beginning in 
my new home, probably my home for life, I 
hope my children's. If so, how many sor- 
rows and how many joys will these walls 
witness. As soon as James had left the 
room, I knelt down at the window which 
looks out into the wood and devoutly thanked 
God, and invoked his blessing on the house 
and on all of us. The next day (Thursday, 
September 25), we all moved in." 

A few months later (April 20), he wrote to 
his uncle, George Richards, in Paris : " The 
spring is just coming hei*e after a wonderful 
winter. Even within a fortnight we have had 
a heavy storm : thirty-six regular snow-storms 
ill all, and good sleighing most of the time. 
Now we begin to enjoy the country : for my 
house, although only two miles from Beacon 



62 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Street, is as much in the country as though 
it were twenty. William and myself have 
ninety acres, and though as to profit we 
hope to see it occupied, it is more agreeable 
as a residence as it is now — at least a great 
part of the year. I have cows, hens, horses, 
puppies, etc., besides a large family inside 
the iiouse, and we think nobody lives so 
pleasantly. Kossuth is here : he receives a 
kind reception : he is certainly a patriot, 
though an adventurer, too, and a smart fel- 
low. I think he has reached his zenith of 
fame." 

In those days there was a clear stretch of 
water on both sides of the Mill-dam from 
Charles Street to the three roads. Where 
Commonwealth Avenue now runs, men and 
boys could almost always be seen in the win- 
ter days spearing eels and catching smelts 
through the ice, or skating across the Back 
Bay to Roxbury and Brookline. The wind 
sweeping down the Charles River valley 
across this long stretch of Mill-dam gave 
Mr. Lawrence many a rough and cold ride 
which probably laid up a store of neuralgia 
for later life. 

Though not a robust bo}', he had by care 
and regular exercise developed into a man 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 63 

of more than average strength ; and he had 
that sensitiveness of nerve and quickness 
of action which gives success and therefore 
pleasure in athletic sports. 

When in college he wrote, " I am in train- 
ing to get strength and agility. I am taking 
some lessons in sparring ; nothing can be of 
more use to confirm good health or cure it if 
delicate. I spar with Gray, and am px'etty 
sure of being his equal in a few days, though 
he is considerably heavier. Then I shall try 
Thorndike, who has gone through four 
courses, and is larger in every way and 
more active." During the winter of 1850 
he records : " Afternoon, went to Savin Hill 
with the club to bowl : snowing very fast all 
the afternoon. W. D. Soliier, Bartlett, Lor- 
ing, W. Sohier, lawyers ; G. M. Dexter, J. 
P. Putnam, and Dr. S. G. Howe." 

Skating he kept up until nearly the last 
winter of his life. Though in these days of 
excessive attention to athletics the senti- 
ments of the following letter to the Master 
of Groton Academy seem commonplace, they 
were not so in 1853 % — 

Boston, May 31, 1853. 

Dear Sir, — The lack of manual labor 
or of manly and athletic exercises is a source 



64 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

of weakness and effeminacy in young men, 
sometimes inducing disease or aggravating 
it. The old English sports, which gave 
courage, activity, and strength to our ances- 
tors in the northern country (and which are 
still kept up there), qualities which the 
hardships of a New England life in the 
wilderness sustained for several generations, 
have almost died out, excepting among a 
few sporting people, and in some schools 
where they are kept up under the form of 
gymnastics. Exercise, merely as such, be- 
comes irksome ; and therefore gymnasiums 
have usually been failures. The excitement 
of uncertainty is required of a regular game 
— a party victorious and a party beaten — 
to draw out the energy of body and mind, 
to develop the powers of all the limbs and 
muscles and quicken the senses. This gives 
hardness, and strength, and elasticity of 
body (which has its effect upon the mind 
and heart) and which few persons ever at- 
tain, except during their boyhood and youth. 
A good plan for encouraging some of the 
most common exercises, such as cricket, 
quoits, single-stick, would be to offer a hand- 
some medal for each, to be awarded once in 
a year to him who excels ; the award to be 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 65 

made by a jury of his peers, to be chosen by 
the students at large, each jury containing 
only those who are not competitors. 

These medals, say three, of silver worth 
twenty dollars each, I propose to furnish. 
Yours truly. A, A. L. 

He also had the happy faculty of catching 
a moment's nap at any time and under any 
circumstances, having such control of him- 
self that he would wake up at a given mo- 
ment ; in fact, during his entrance examina- 
tion to Harvard College he fell asleep, but 
hearing the professor say " sufficient " to 
the student next him, he awoke bright and 
ready. After coming home tired from busi- 
ness, three minutes on a sofa was enough to 
rest mind and body and give enjoyment to 
the afternoon ride. " Generally, when no 
particular occupation offers I sleep easily 
in the daytime, though not so well at night ; 
frequently I lie awake several hours in the 
night after two o'clock. This gives time for 
reflection which is very useful to me, and no 
one requires it more. These wakeful sea- 
sons may with God's help be the means of 
keeping religion from dying out in my heart. 
Never duiing the day does religion assume 



66 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

such importance as when the world is still 
and shut out from view ; then we weigh the 
importance of temporal and eternal things 
more accurately. I pray God that the time 
may never come to me when these halting 
places may not occur, affording me an oppor- 
tunity of looking backward on the past and 
forward to what is to come." 

In 1847 Mr. Lawrence bought a cottage 
at Lynn just at the head of Long Beach, 
where its graceful sweep towards Nahant is 
most marked. And here he passed many 
summers, reserving a few days in the au- 
tumn when he with his family went to renew 
old associations at the homestead in Groton. 

In 1844 his only sister, Mrs. Charles 
Mason, died, and in 1845 his half-brother 
Robert, a young man of lovely character, 
was taken. 

The early death of his mother had bound 
Mr. Lawrence to his father in close affection. 
Then their common interests in business and 
philanthropy had caused an association even 
more intimate. When at Bedford he wrote : 
" My father has not written me for nearly 
two weeks, so that I am afraid he is sick. 
What would become of me if I should lose 
him ! So good a father, so affectionate and 
watchful of my morals." 



FIRST TEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 67 

With evident gratification he records in 
1841 : " Father was much pleased with the 
leading article in the ' Atlas ' yesterday, and 
more so when I told him it was mine. It 
was headed ' The Scarcity of Money.' " 

The death of his father was, therefore, the 
great break in his life. 

"January 1, 1853. The death of my dear 
father. I can hardly realize as I write, that 
the time has come for making this record. It 
reminds me of many things, but at this mo- 
ment more particularly of a similar record 
which my sons must ere long make, — if the 
life of either of them should be spared a few 
years, — of my own decease. After many 
months of improved health, of constant cheer- 
fulness, and of religious and benevolent em- 
ployment ; after receiving a long visit under 
his own roof from his friends Mr. and Mrs. 
Pierce, President Hopkins, and others, and in 
the few days before his last having amended 
his will, closed the affairs of his partner- 
ship of thirty-nine years' standing, paid his 
almost daily visits to our family here at 
Longwood, and to my brother's, caressed 
his grandchildren and kindly greeted many 
friends, he retired to rest on the night of 
December 30th in apparently good health. 



68 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Soon after midniglit lie groaned and awak- 
ened my uiotlier ; but in vain she applied 
the common restoratives. The life was 
gone ; the soul had gone to God who gave it. 
Dr. Warren and my brother William were 
called. Early in the morning William sent 
out word to me. How many times before I 
had expected such a sad message, but not 
now ! O God, our Father, grant that we 
may die as well prepared ; that our lives may 
be as useful ; and, if it please Thee, may our 
death be as free from pain as his." 

For several years an enterprise in Wis- 
consin absorbed much of Mr. Lawrence's 
time and interest. In the year 1852 the 
romantic story of " the lost Dauphin " was 
exciting much interest in this country, and 
the question was everywhere under discus- 
sion, whether the son of Marie Antoinette, 
the Dauphin of France, who was said to 
have been spirited away at the time of his 
mother's death, was not now the Kev. Elea- 
zer Williams, missionary of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church among the Oneida Indi- 
ans at their reservation near Green Bay in 
Wisconsin. 

At that time the claims of Mr. Williams, 
the story of his escape and life among the 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 69 

Indians, and, more than all, his Bourbon 
features and noble presence, appealed to the 
imagination of many. 

It was Mr. Lawrence's fortune to see the 
more prosaic side of Mr. Williams's char- 
acter. For the pretender to the throne of 
France had one feature in common with 
some of his royal cousins : he was in a 
chronic impecunious condition. 

The pressure of circumstances had brought 
him to Boston as early as 1845 to raise 
money on five thousand acres of land on 
which he lived in Wisconsin. Rev. Dr. 
Lothrop, whose father was also a mission- 
ary among- the Indians, interested Mr. Amos 
Lawrence in the matter, but on account of 
his health the burden of lending the money 
was taken by his son. The result was that, 
as the fortune of the lost Dauphin waned, 
Mr. Lawrence was drawn more and more 
into the investment, until he found himself 
the unwilling possessor of over five thousand 
acres of land in the Fox River Valley, Wis- 
consin. 

Financially, the investment resulted as 
such forced purchases usually do. The 
agents turned out careless or dishonest, and 
the settlers took advantage of a distant 



70 A3fOS A. LAWRENCE. 

owner, until, as Mr. Lawrence wrote, "claims 
Lave been laid upon every piece of land 
which I own in Wisconsin, which has risen 
in value, while those which have not risen in 
value remain unmolested." 

But the incident has an interest as show- 
ing* that with the ownership of property came 
also a sense of responsibility for the welfare 
of those who lived upon and near it. For 
as soon as the five thousand acres fell into 
his hands he wrote to his agent : " I have 
been thinking more of the establishment of 
an institution of learning or college on the 
Williams land, and there seems to be a good 
opportunity, not only for improving the tone 
of morals and the standard of education in 
that vicinity, but also of conferring a lasting 
benefit on a portion of our countrymen who 
most need it. I have a high opinion of the 
adaptation of the principles of the Metho- 
dists to the people of the West, and I think, 
from all that I can learn, that their insti- 
tutions are carried on with more vigor, and 
diif use more good with the same means, than 
any other. It seems to me decided by ex- 
perience, that all literary institutions must 
be controlled by some sect, and efforts to pre- 
vent this have often blasted their usefulness. 



FIRST YEARS AFTER MARRIAGE. 71 

I slioulcl desire most of all to see a Protest- 
ant Episcopal institution ; but that is out of 
the question, as our form of worship is only 
adopted slowly, and never will be popular 
in this country. I think the old-fashioned 
name ' college ' or ' school ' is as good as 
any ; ' university ' would hardly do for such 
a young child." 

Later he wrote : " The school is to be 
under the control of the Methodist denomi- 
nation, though it is specified that " a large 
minority of the trustees shall be from other 
denominations. I trust it will be conducted 
so as to do the most good, to diffuse the 
greatest amount of learning and religion, 
without reference to propagating the tenets 
of any sect." 

Soon after, Mr. Lawrence yielded to the 
urgent request of those citizens who were in- 
terested in the establishment of a college, to 
change the location from the Williams tract 
to the " Grand Chute " on the Fox River, 
which was considered by them to be a better 
position. Here a new town was immediately 
incorporated and named "Appleton," after 
Mr. Samuel Appleton of Boston, and in it 
the colleire was established. Mr. Lawrence's 
sug-orestion of the modest title " school " or 



72 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

" colles'e " was not in accordance with the 
popular taste for great names, and as he had 
initiated the movement and had given more 
than twenty thousand dolhirs towards its 
foundation, the charter was obtained under 
the title " Lawrence University." 

For a few years the institution, after the 
early example and charter of Harvard, edu- 
cated some of the " Indian youth," but its 
real work has been in the line of Mr. Law- 
rence's first suggestion, the diffusion of learn- 
ing and religion among the people of that 
vicinity and the neighboring States. Under 
the successful presidency of his friend. Rev. 
Dr. Edward Cooke, the university reached a 
position of influence which it has sustained ; 
and one of the last days of his life was passed 
in consultation with Dr. Cooke and its pres- 
ent president as to means for increasing its 
work. 



VI. 

KANSAS STRUGGLE. 

1854-1856. 

In the agitation caused by the passage of 
the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, Mr. Law- 
rence wrote : " Matters of state policy are 
comparatively of no importance now. The 
great question is the national one : Shall we 
stand by the laws or shall we nullify them? 
Shall we uphold the Union, or shall we 
break it up ? " Conservative by inheritance 
and education, he had as little sympathy 
with the small fraction of " higher law " ab- 
olitionists as with their fellow nullifiers, the 
political leaders of the slaveholders. He 
could not follow Mr. Webster in his com- 
promises with slavery, but at the same time 
he esteemed the Free-Soilers a danger to 
the Union on account of their persistent 
agitation of the slave question and their 
sectional spirit. He was a Whig, bound in 
honor to preserve the original compact of 



74 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

the Union by which slavery was recognized, 
but bound also to use every legitimate means 
to prevent the increase of slavery, and ani- 
mated with the hope that time and patience 
would bring about peacefully the abolition 
of the evil. His business acquaintance with 
Southern cotton-growers lead him to appre- 
ciate their side of the question, and to rec- 
ognize the care that many of them took in 
the welfare of their slaves. " Mr. Carroll 
of Cai'rollton," he wrote, "is staying in 
Boston. He was offered $300,000 for the 
use of his slaves for five years to be carried 
to New Orleans and declined. They earn 
nothing more than their support at home. 
Would an abolitionist have done it ? " Nev- 
ertheless, his active interest in the colony of 
freed slaves in Liberia, and in Father Hen- 
son and other blacks who were purchasing 
freedom for themselves and their families, 
kept him alert to the evils of the system. 

The great body of conservative, loyal 
citizens in the North received a sharp shock 
when, in 1854, Congress passed the Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill, thus repealing the Missouri 
Compromise of 1820. 

For twenty-five years North and South 
had worked on the common understanding; 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 75 

that there should be no slave State north of 
of the line 36° 30', and the compromise had 
gained, in popular esteem, the dignity of a 
compact. When, then, in 1854 Congress cut 
Nebraska into halves (calling the southern 
half Kansas) and proclaimed the doctrine 
of " squatter sovereignty," that each Terri- 
tory had full control over its ovrn domestic 
institutions and could vote for or against slav- 
ery without regai-d to the line of 1820, the 
people of the North began to realize that 
they had an uncompromising party to deal 
with. 

It happened that a few weeks after the 
passage of the bill a slaveholder. Colonel 
Suttle of Alexandria, miide a demand on 
the authorities in Boston for the delivery of 
a runaway slave named Burns who was con- 
cealed in the city. The request did not 
tend to calm the irritated spirits of the Bos- 
ton people. Three years before, when there 
was danger of a mob on account of the de- 
livery of a slave, Mr. Lawrence had offered 
his services to United States Marshal Dev- 
ens ; but circumstances had changed and 
feelings were aroused in 1854. Mr. Law- 
rence wrote to the mayor that he " would 
prefer to see the court house razed rather 



76 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

than that the fugitive now confined there 
should be returned to slavery." In a letter 
to his brother he said : " The newspapers 
will give you an account of the slave excite- 
ment here. 1 tell you it was high times. 
Mayor Smith called out all the troops in 
this region, and it was a regular muster day 
when the fugitive was carried off ; all busi- 
ness was suspended. The negro was a good- 
looking fellow and well dressed ; and as he 
marched down State Street in the procession, 
cavalry and artillery with cannon and United 
States troops were before and behind him ; 
but he held his liead up and marched like a 
man. The windows and houses were filled 
with peojde, though the streets and even 
the cross streets had all been cleared. The 
blood of '76, like that of St. Januarius, 
boiled np, and it was nothing but the clear- 
ing of the streets previously and the im- 
mense display of military that prevented 
the total destruction of the United States 
marshal and his hired assistants." 

The passage of the Kansas - Nebraska 
Bill turned the eyes of the whole country 
upon the new Territory, Kansas, which was 
]daeed in a unique and critical position. 
The scattered settlers in a great Territory, 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 77 

which, until the passage of this bill, had 
been an Indian reservation, were to have 
the privilege of deciding by popular vote 
whether slavery or freedom should exist in 
its borders. The slave and free powers in 
the nation were so evenly balanced that 
the decision of Kansas became of national 
importance. It was the first open popular 
struggle, which ended in the civil war. Im- 
mediately that rough body of men which 
hover around the borders of every new 
country pushed in and drove down stakes. 
Drawn largely from the Southern country, 
their influence was pro-slavery. Soon the 
adjoining slave State, Missouri, realized the 
necessity of liaving her neighbor in agree- 
ment with herself, and across her borders 
swarmed a very uncomfortable looking lot 
of settlers, who had at least one firm convic- 
tion, that Kansas must go pro-slavery. Cer- 
tainly every appearance was in their favor. 
In a few weeks the people of the North 
began to realize that Kansas needed Free 
State settlers. Still, slavery had every ad- 
vantage, and the country was about to settle 
down to the fact of another slave Territory, 
when Mr. Eli Thayer of Worcester sug- 
gested the idea of organized emigration for 



78 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Kansas. Even before the passage of the 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill he had obtained a 
charter for the " Massachusetts Emigrant 
Aid Association," allowing a capital of five 
million dollars, with the intention of con- 
trolling all emigration in the interest of 
liberty. His hope was first to secure all the 
Territories and then move upon the slave 
States, — a plan more magnificent in idea 
than in immediate possibilities. The criti- 
cal situation of Kansas, however, gave a 
practical turn to the scheme. Here was an 
opportunity for lovers of freedom to fight 
for their cause in a legitimate and thor- 
oughly American way, by creating ^^ublic 
opinion in a Territory through the encour- 
agement of the settlement of bona fide citi- 
zens and legal voters. Having accepted the 
position as one of the three trustees of the 
association at the request of his friend, Mr. 
Patrick Jackson, Mr. Lawrence found to his 
surprise that he had undertaken a piece of 
work which was as arduous as it was expen- 
sive. 

A short experience proved that the origi- 
nal scheme was too magnificent in its scope, 
and a new and more practical constitution 
was drawn up. The design of the revised 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 79 

association, called " The New England Emi- 
grant Aid Company," was " to promote the 
emigration to Kansas Territory of persons 
opposed to slavery there, and to prevent, by 
all legal and constitutional means, its estab- 
lishment there as well as in the Territory 
of Nebraska." Its immediate objects were 
" to procure for such emigrants cheap fare 
and good accommodations on the route, to 
advise them, through agents, on their arrival 
out, in regard to eligible sites for settle- 
ments ; to secure for their benefit, by pur- 
chase or otherwise, advantageous locations 
as landing-places, a general rendezvous for 
outfitting purposes, etc. ; to erect receiving 
houses for the temporary convenience for 
settlers' families ; to establish furnishing 
stores, at which, on reasonably low terms, 
the necessaries and comforts of life may be 
purchased ; to erect, or aid individuals in 
erecting and conducting, saw-mills, grist- 
mills, machine-shops, and similar establish- 
ments, essential in new settlements ; to in- 
troduce the printing press, and thus afford 
a medium of communication between the 
settlers, their friends, and the public." 

To accomplish these and kindred objects, 
the trustees proposed to raise the sum of 



80 A3fOS A. LA WHENCE. 

$200,000, for which they looked to the liber- 
ality of all disposed to aid in the cause. To 
contributors they issued certificates of loans 
representing twenty dollars each. 

Mr. Lawrence never shared the expecta- 
tion of some of his associates, that the stock 
would pay dividends, or even that the stock- 
holders would ever see their money again, 
and he would have preferred to depend 
upon the gifts of patriotic citizens without 
entering into such financial obligations. To 
his father's old friend, Professor Packard of 
Bowdoin College, he wrote : " The shape in 
which it is presented is objectionable, that is, 
as a stock company, and it imposes on those 
who manage it the responsibilit}^ of making 
dividends or of becoming odious. It was 
with great reluctance that I meddled with it 
at all ; but it was just about dying for want 
of concerted action and for want of money 
and business knowledge on the part of those 
who had started it. Even now it is sickly 
for want of funds, but it has given an im- 
])ulse to emigration into Kansas which can- 
not easily be stopped." 

To a clergyman who asked his advice 
about investing in the stock, he answered : 
" Keep your money for your own use, rather 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 81 

than do anything of that sort. The value 
of laud stock companies is the most delusive 
of all stocks ; and persons are more easily 
drawn into them than any other. Some of 
my coadjutors in this enterprise would, if 
they had the money, invest large sums in 
this stock ; but fortunately the sanguine ones 
who' have property are all in deVjt, and the 
poorer ones must rest content. I have taken 
considerable, but only so much as I am will- 
ing to contriVjute to the cause ; and I have 
already given a part of this away, and intend 
to do the same with the balance." 

However, with Mr. John Carter Brown of 
Providence as president, he accepted the 
position of treasurer and trustee, in asso- 
ciation with the two other trustees, ^Messrs. 
Eli Thayer and J. M. S. Williams. 

On the 17th of July, 1854, the first party 
of twenty-nine emigrants were cheered out of 
the railroad station by their friends and the 
trustees, and on the 29th of August a sec- 
ond party of seventy, which was increased 
very much on the route, moved out of Bos- 
ton singing, to the tune of " Auld Lang 
Syne," one of the " Lays of the Immigrants " 
written for the occasion by Mr. ^V'hittier ; — 



82 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

" We cross the prairie as of old 
Tlie Pilg'riins crossed the sea, 
To make the West, as they the East, 
The homestead of the free ! 

" We go to rear a wall of men 
On Freedom's southern line, 
And plant beside the cotton-tree 
The rugged Northern jjine ! ' ' 

To the record of their departure Mr. 
Lawrence added : "All the exjoenditure thus 
far has been met by myself, but I cannot 
go farther without funds in hand. These 
must be raised soon. The stock remains as 
it was : only 120,000 taken." A few days 
after, he was able to give this report of 
doubtful encouragement : " $50,000 of our 
stock has been taken, thereby enabling us 
to make an assessment. But it was done 
by a forced process, — the trustees taking 
$10,000 more each, which they are respon- 
sible for." 

As the pro-slavery squatters had settled in 
little towns on the borders near Missouri, 
the first object of the New England emi- 
grants was to create a centre for the anti- 
slavery settlers. The conductor of the first 
jnirty, C. H. Bransconib, therefore followed 
the directions given him from Boston, and 
went up the Kansas Kiver. Soon a camp 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 83 

of tents, increased later by huts and log-cab- 
ins, marked the settlement o£ Wakarusa. A 
village with an Indian title seemed to the 
settlers hardly consistent with the dignity of 
the rising "city," and they naturally turned 
to the East for a name. In answer to a re- 
quest for a fitting title Mr. Lawrence had 
written : " It is my decided opinion that the 
Indian names of places, if they are not too 
harsh, are the best." But Dr. Charles Rob- 
inson, who was the leading representative 
of the Emigrant Aid Company, answered : 
" Your letter came too late to influence the 
action of the citizens. A letter from Mr. 
Thayer was received some time since, offer- 
ing a library on behalf of the citizens of 
Worcester, if the city would be called by 
that name ; but our people are nearly unan- 
imous in their opposition to the names of 
Eastern or other cities for our cit}'. Most 
of our people are very much attached to j'our 
name, and after I had explained your course 
in connection with our enterprise, and your 
personal characteristics, as they had been 
exhibited to me, there was much enthusiasm 
manifested, and I think it will be impossible 
to induce our people to change the name of 
their city for any considerations." 



84 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Mr. Lawrence again protested : " My mo- 
tives, thus far, have been pure and unselfish ; 
and I wish them not only to be, but to ap- 
pear, so ; this would not be the case, should 
it be made public that the settlement had 
been named for me. It would give to my 
future efforts the appearance of promoting 
my own celebrity, — or. in other words, my 
own interests, — and Avould lessen my own 
influence for the good of the cause. Besides 
this, it might excite dissatisfaction in the 
minds of mj associated trustees, both of 
whom ai'e devoted to it, and one of whom 
labored in it long before I did." 

But he was met by the final letter from a 
committee of citizens : " We thought that 
one who, in the darkest hour of the grand 
enterprise, stepped nobly forth to urge on its 
lagging energies and nerve it with the firm 
* sinews of war,' and who entered w'ithout 
the hope or expectation of remuneration, 
was worthy of lasting remembrance. It is 
for these, with other reasons, dear sir, that 
we have taken the liberty of calling our al- 
ready important place Lawrence." 

The purchase of a hotel in Kansas City, 
Mo., for the temporary lodgment of emi- 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 85 

grants, tlie incidental expenses, and agents' 
salaries, brought steady demands on the trus- 
tees. Mr. Thayer went from city to city, 
stating the purpose of the society, creating 
branch societies, and recruiting emigrants ; 
while in Boston Messrs. Lawrence and Wil- 
liams tried to raise the necessary funds, 
thousrh the association was most of the time 
six or seven thousand dollars in debt to the 
treasurer. It was also easier for those who 
talked to make promises than for the treas- 
ury to meet them. " There is a good deal of 
bluster," wrote Mr. Lawrence to Mr. John 
Carter Brown, " in regard to the movements 
of this company, and statements as to the 
magnitude of our plans which are untrue." 
To Mr. Pomeroy, an agent in Kansas, he 
sent word, " This makes over-drafts for 
about 16,000. As to obtaining money, I 
am sorry to say the prospect under our pres- 
ent arrangement is very poor ; some change 
must be made. Meantime we are making- 
large promises as to what we will do for set- 
tlers which are certain to be broken, and 
which will entail much dissatisfaction." 
" The labor is much greater than you would 
suppose," he informed Mr. Williams, " fully 
as much as to be treasurer of a manu- 



86 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

facturing corporation with a capital of 
$1,500,000." At about the same time his 
journal reads : " Kansas drafts came in ; no 
money in the treasury and never have had, 
and no money of my own. So I transferred 
some manufacturing- company's stock to be 
sold and pay them. If Kansas should not 
be a free State, I shall lay it to heart and to 
my pocket too." 

The report of the Massachusetts emigra- 
tion movement was spread through the coun- 
try with great exaggerations, so that the 
Southern politicians found in it a ready 
excuse for pouring ruffians across the line 
simply to vote ; and though the abolitionists 
condemned this constitutional method of 
creating free States as " false in principle," 
yet it was heralded as an abolitionists' move- 
ment. Several congressmen had attacked 
the association so savagely that Mr. Law- 
rence felt bound to justify to Mr. Benton the 
company's action. 

Boston, January 2, 1855. 
Dear Sir, — ... It has been asserted 
that the emigrants have had their expenses 
paid to go to Kansas and vote. In your pub- 
lished speech you say that the same game 
may have been played on both sides. 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 87 

As you love to know the trutli and to de- 
fend it, I will state that not one man has 
gone from New England who has had his 
expenses paid, even in part. I am the treas- 
urer and a trustee of the only New England 
society which has sent out settlers, and know 
that all the money collected has been spent 
in erecting school-houses, temporary huts, 
steam saw and grist mill, in purchasing a 
tavern in the town of Kansas, Mo., and for 
similar purposes, and for nothing worse. 

In soliciting subscriptions or receiving 
them, it is usual to allow the subscriber to 
take and pay for it as stock, say $^200, and 
to receive a certificate of it, as in any other 
stock company ; or to give outright, for the 
same, $100. Many prefer to give the 
money ; that is, they do not value the stock 
at half price. None has ever been sold, nor 
would it sell at over one half ; nor do I be- 
lieve that there is a stockholder who would 
not have taken three fourths of the cost the 
moment when he paid the money. It is 
what those who favor it call a " patriotic " 
movement, to bring into active and healthy 
life a new State, and to keep slavery out of 
it ; to get good institutions in, and to keep 
a bad institution out. Those "sent out" 



88 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

have not been abolitionists ; so far as we 
know, not one known to be of that stamp has 
gone in onr parties. They are free to vote 
and to do as they please. The society has 
no agreement with them nor pledge, nor are 
they asked any questions ; since it is pre- 
sumed that all New England men think 
alike about the iniquity of the measure of 
the last session, and as you do. 

Yours truly, A. A. L. 

President Pierce was only too ready to 
listen to the Southern statement of the Kan- 
sas difficulties ; but as he happened to be a 
nephew of Mr. Lawrence's mother, the con- 
nection gave Mr, Lawrence opportunities to 
try and correct the false impressions. " I 
have been pained often," he wrote to the 
President, " by seeing this association mis- 
represented ; it has been called an affair of 
the abolitionists, etc. Some societies under 
this name have been formed by abolitionists, 
but have accomplished nothing." 

In the mean time, affairs were approach- 
ing a crisis in Kansas. Three months after 
the first party arrived, they had their first 
experience of a Kansas election. The choice 
of a delegate to Congress for a fractional 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 89 

term was not a great issue, but it was enough 
to bring seventeen hundred and twenty-nine 
Missourians aci-oss the border to have a pic- 
nic and stuff the ballot - boxes. The pro- 
slavery candidate was therefore elected. As 
the question of slave State or free State de- 
pended on the legislature, the capture of 
that body in the second election was worth 
a struggle. Even the Senator from Missouri, 
then acting vice-president, David R. Atchi- 
son, did not consider the subject beneath his 
notice and personal activity. The result was 
that on the morning of the 30th of March 
the taverns of Kansas were put to the test 
to supply food and liquor for the five thou- 
sand new citizens who, armed with revolvers 
and bowie-knives, had swarmed in from Mis- 
souri to exercise the privilege of American 
citizens, and to vanish across the border in 
the evening. A total of sixty -three hun- 
dred and seven votes in a Territory includ- 
ing only twenty-nine hundred and five legal 
voters was rather trying. In anticipation of 
this Mr. Lawrence had written to Mr. Atch- 
ison : — 

(CoTTAGB Farm near) Boston, March 31, 1855. 
My dear Sir, — I take the liberty to 
address you upon a subject in which I have 



90 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

a common interest with yourself, viz. : the 
settlement of Kansas. Since the repeal of 
the " Missouri Compromise " by the last 
Congress, this Territory has attracted the 
attention of distant not less than of the 
neighboring States ; for it is evident that 
there must be decided the question whether 
there shall be slave or free labor over a 
vast region of the United States now un- 
settled. You and your friends would make 
slave States, and we wish to prevent 3'^our 
doing so. The stake is a large one, and the 
ground chosen. Let the fight be a fair one. 
It is to secure this that I address you. 
Your influence is requisite to restrain your 
people from doing great injustice to actual 
settlers, and provoking them to retaliatory 
measures, the consequences of which would 
be most deplorable. I beg you, my dear sir, 
to use your efforts to avert so great an evil. 

Let the contest be waged honorably, for 
unless it be so, no settlement of the question 
can ever be final. It is already reported 
here that large bodies of Missourians will 
cross over merely to vote, and that they may 
gain this election as they did the last. But 
how delusive to suppose that settlers who 
have come from one to two thousand miles 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 91 

with their families will acquiesce in any 
election gained by such means, or that any 
future election can be satisfactory which is 
not conducted according to law. The ad- 
vantage of proximity is yours ; your people 
can afford to be not only just, but gener- 
ous, in this matter. The repeal of the law 
which secured this Territory against the in- 
troduction of slavei-y is considered by most 
men in the " free States " to be a breach of 
the national faith ; and it is not uiii-eason- 
able for those who have gone there to find 
a home to expect a compliance with the laws 
as they are. Those from New England 
hav^e gone in good faith and at their own 
expense. They are chiefly farmers ; but 
among them are good representatives from 
all professions. Some have considerable 
property, but all have rights and principles 
which they value more than money, and, I 
may say, more than life itself. Neither is 
there any truth in the assertion that they 
are abolitionists. No person of that stripe 
is known to have gone from here ; nor is 
it known here that any such have gone 
from other States. But oppression may 
make them abolitionists of the most dan- 
gerous kind. 



92 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

There lias been much said in regard to an 
extensive organization here, which is wholly 
untrue. I assure you, sir, that what has 
been undertaken here will be carried on 
fairly and equitably. The management is 
in the hands of men of prudence, of wealth 
and determination ; they are not politicians, 
nor are they aspirants for office : they are 
determined, if it be possible, to see that 
justice is done to those who have ventured 
their all in that Territory. May I not hope, 
sir, that you will second this effort to see 
that the contest shall be carried on fairly ? 
If fairly beaten you may be sure that our 
people will acquiesce, however reluctant ; 
but they never will yield to injustice. 

Respectfully yours, A. A. L. 

Soon after he wrote to President Pierce : 

Boston, Ajiril 17, 1855. 

My dear Sir, — As the subject of the 
recent election in Kansas Territory will 
probably be brought to your notice offi- 
cially, and as various accounts of it will be 
written by interested parties, it may not be 
amiss for me to state very briefly what I 
know to be true. 

Having been in a situation to see many 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 93 

private letters from persons in various parts 
of the Territory, most of them indicating 
intelligence and fairness, and having con- 
versed with an intelligent man just from 
there, I consider it proved conclusively that 
the proceedings of the Missourians who 
crossed over with arms were a series of out- 
rages, grossly insulting to the actual settlers, 
to the government, and to the public senti- 
ment of the whole country. It is difficult 
to imagine that so much injuiy could have 
been inflicted unaccompanied by serious 
casualties, and it can only be accounted for 
from the fact that the invading force was 
overwhelmingly large. 

Since Governor Reeder has declined to 
be used as the agent of this illegal combi- 
nation, he has been pursued by the foulest 
slander, and now by threats. He will re- 
quire all the countenance and support of the 
government to sustain him in the position 
in which he is placed in the performance of 
his duty. 

Respectfully and truly yours, 

A. A. L. 

In a few months the citizens of Kansas 
found themselves with a legislature which, 



94 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

though repudiated by the territorial gov- 
ernor, Reeder, imported the whole code of 
Missouri into Kansas. This body of law- 
makers not only legalized slavery, but de- 
nounced death against any one who aided in 
the escape of a slave. As Professor Spring 
in his " History of Kansas " writes : " Their 
code struck at the liberty of the press, at 
freedom of speech, and the sanctities of the 
ballot-box." 

The Emigrant Aid Company sent only 
about thirteen hundred emigrants. But the 
patriotic motive behind it affected public 
opinion over the country and helped to 
make the Kansas struggle of national in- 
terest. The emigrants, too, were of such 
character and sjnrit that they formed the 
nucleus of the Free State movement, and 
their city, Lawrence, was its headquarters. 
One of the happiest results, however, was 
the choice of Dr. Charles Robinson of Fitch- 
burg as the principal agent of the com- 
pany in Kansas. Having had some experi- 
ences in California in the early mining days, 
he now developed a power of leadership 
which made him the centre and guide of the 
Free State citizens. He soon wrote to Mr. 
Lawrence, " Instead of recognizing this as 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 96 

the legislature of Kansas and participating 
in its proceedings as such, I utterly i^epudi- 
ate it." " Simply as a citizen and as a man, 
I shall, therefore, yield no submission to this 
alien legislature." 

A few days after the receipt of this letter 
an entiy in Mr. Lawrence's journal runs : 
" Paid $1,000 for rifles for Kansas sufferers ; 
proceeds of them, when sold, to go to the 
'Church of the Pilgrims' in Kansas." And 
he then wrote to President Pierce : — 

Boston, July 15, 1855. 
My dear Sir, — It is evident that there 
is a body of men in Missouri who are deter- 
mined to drive our people from Kansas, if 
they dare to do so ; and for the reason that 
the settlers from the " free States " are op- 
posed to the introduction of slave trade 
there. Up to this time the government has 
kept so far aloof as to force the settlers to 
the conclusion that if they would be safe, 
they must defend themselves ; and therefore 
many persons here who refused at first (my- 
self included) have rendered them assistance, 
by furnishing them the means of defense. 
Yours with regard, A. A. L. 



96 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Then he wrote to Dr. Webb, secretary of 
the Emigrant Aid Company : — 

Boston, July 20, 1855. 

Dear Doctor, — Here is a letter which 
indicates that the crisis approaches, and it 
shows that our friend Robinson is the man 
to meet it. That a revolution must take 
place in Kansas is certain, if that can be 
called a revolution which is only an over- 
thi'ow of usurpation. When farmers turn 
soldiers they must have arms. Write to 
Plartford and get their terms for one hun- 
dred more of the Sharps rifles at once. 

Yours truly, A. A. L. 

On the same day he wrote to Dr. Robin- 
son : — 

Boston, July 20, 1855. 

My dear Sir, — You are on the eve of 
stirring times. I wish Mr. Pomeroy was 
with you. I wish we all were there, if we 
could stand up like men to the work in 
hand. I know more than one man here, 
who looks every day and every night at his 
wife and little ones, and doubts which way 
his duty lies. But we must not doubt. 
Young men and men like you must do the 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 97 

work, and you must have the glory of sav- 
ing a good 23art of your country to freedom. 
But you must have arms, or your courage 
will not avail. We must stir ourselves here 
to-morrow and see what can be done. 

Yours faithfully, A. A. L. 

On the promise from Mr. Lawrence of 
il,000 for arms. Dr. Samuel Cabot, who was 
one of the directors of the Emigrant Com- 
pany, immediately started a subscription 
paper and obtained il,600 more from a 
small but mixed company of hunkers, repub- 
licans, and abolitionists, — Samuel A. El- 
iot, J. M. Forbes, Wendell Phillips, Gerritt 
Smith, John Bertram, Cunningham Broth- 
ers, Theodore Lyman, Henry Lee, E. Rock- 
wood Hoar, Samuel Hoar, G. Howland 
Shaw, William R. Lawrence, and two or 
three others. 

At the same time Mr. J. B. Abbott ap- 
peared in Boston with letters from the 
Kansas people asking for arms. Mr. Law- 
rence immediately gave him this order to 
Mr. Palmer of the Sharps rifle manufactory 
at Hartford : — 

"Request Mr. Palmer to have one hun- 
dred Sharps rifles packed in casks like hard- 



98 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

ware and to retain them snbject to ni}^ or- 
der. Also to send the bill to me by mail. 1 
will pay it either with my note, according 
to the terms agreed on between him and Dr. 
Webb, or in cash, less interest at seven per 
cent." 

Before the subscriptions had come in, 
Mr. Lawrence had advanced the payment 
by his note for $2,700 ; for, as he wrote to 
his nncle, " I send to Kansas every hundred 
dollars that I can get and which is not 
previously engaged ; for that seems to be an 
innnediate necessity and will not bear de- 
lay." A few casks marked " books " were 
soon on their way to Kansas, and later, 
several "boxes of primers" were received 
by the Free State citizens for the education 
of their Missouri neighbors. They arrived 
just in time for service. President Pierce, 
instead of listening to the urgent requests 
of the citizens of Kansas for justice and pro- 
'tection, had dismissed Governor Reeder, and 
had put in his place Wilson Shannon. The 
new governor immediately yielded to his pro- 
slavery advisers, and, taking advantage of 
exaggerations, ordered out the state militia 
(which consisted largely of Missouri ruf- 
fians) for the invasion of the Free State 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 99 

headquarters, — the city of Lawrence. To 
their surprise they found five small forts 
garrisoned with six hundred men, two hun- 
dred of whom were armed with Sliarps ri- 
fles. The major-general. Dr. Robinson, had 
never seen military service, but he had that 
tact and shrewdness which gave him a blood- 
less victor3^ In the midst of the excitement 
he wrote to Mr. Lawrence : — 

Lawrence, December 4, 1855. 
Dear Sir, — We are invaded by order 
of Governor Shannon, but all will be right, I 
think. I have only time to thank you and 
the friends who sent us the Sharps rifles, 
for they have given us, and will give us, the 
victory without firing a shot. We need, how- 
ever, one or two hundred more of the same 
sort. 

In haste, very respectfully, 

C. Robinson. 

Fearing that the excitement of the Kan- 
sas people might lead them to resist the 
United States government, Mr. Lawrence 
in sending the first instalment of rifles had 
written Dr. Robinson : — 



100 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Boston, August 10, 1855. 

My dear Sir, — From Mr. Abbott who 
has just arrived here from your neighbor- 
hood, I infer that the spirit of the settlers 
has been raised so high that they are ready 
to repudiate the present legislature alto- 
gether, and to resist its requirements. In 
this, you will have the good-will and assist- 
ance of the citizens of the free States at 
least. 

But many are willing to go farther, and 
to resist the United States government, if it 
should interfere. For this I can see no 
apology ; nor can there ever be good cause 
for resisting an administration chosen by 
ourselves. However wrong in our opinion, 
there never can be good reason for resisting 
our own government, unless it attempts to 
destroy the power of the people through the 
elections, that is, to take away the power of 
creating a new administration every four 
years. But I do not believe the present 
administration will attempt to impose the 
Missouri code upon the citizens of Kansas. 

There is another reason of a more pru- 
dential kind, viz. : that whoever does this 
is sure of defeat. We are a law-abiding 
people, and we will sustain our own govern 



to 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 101 

ment " right or wrong." Any movement 
aimed at the government destroys at once 
the moral force of the party or organization 
which favors it. Ah'eady tlie present ad- 
ministration is rendered powerless by the 
House of Representatives, and soon will 
come the time to vote for a new one. The 
people will never resist or attempt to de- 
stroy it in any other way. 

Yours very truly, A. A. L. 

A few days later he wrote : " To set up 
for yourselves is to dispute the power of the 
United States government, and that is a 
thing which never will be approved in this 
country, I hope. Perhaps this is not a 
correct view of the case. But if it is, there 
can be no difference of opinion. The sen- 
timent of the whole free States is right on 
this subject ; democrats and all think alike. 
Nothing should be done to make a division. 
Prudence, Doctor, forbearance, and decision, 
these are the qualities which will be most 
in requisition. I feel sure that the United 
States government never will undertake to 
enforce the whole of the laws of the present 
legislature, and perhaps none of them. I 
wrote to you on the 10th. Write me a good 



102 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

letter about the want of the means of de- 
fence, and ask Mrs. Nichols to write me one. 
Dr. Cabot wants them to show, in order to 
get money for rifles." 

The Free State settlers felt that they had 
the I'ight and duty of self-defence from the 
incursions of Missouri ruffians, the stuffing 
of the ballot-boxes, and the execution of the 
code of laws passed by a bogus legislature, 
and in this they were encouraged by the sen- 
timent of all liberty-loving citizens. But 
the distinction between such self-defence and 
resistance to the United States government, 
the officers of the Emigrant Aid ComjJany 
and their agents in Kansas held to be a 
vital one. And though the charge was then 
made, and has since been repeated, that the 
officers and agents of the Emigrant Aid Com- 
pany encouraged resistance to the United 
States authority, there is nothing in their 
correspondence or actions that substantiates 
the charge. On the contrary, with every new 
box of rifles went the urgent advice, "■ Your 
best friends would advise you, if their opin- 
ion was asked, not under any circumstances 
to resist any legal representative of the 
United States, nor allow our peojjle to do it. 
That would put you wrong before the coun- 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 103 

try, and more than anything else take from 
you the nationality which you now hold." 
" The President is in a bad predicament, as 
you see by his proclamation. He wants to 
have the ruffians flogged, but he is afraid to 
do it. He knows that Free State people 
are law-abiding, but he is afraid to say that 
from fear of being called an abolitionist him- 
self. I do hope onr friends will never dis- 
pute the authority of the United States. It 
will help the cause, if that sentiment could 
be brought out in some way, so as not to ap- 
pear to have been done by design." 

To Dr. Robinson he wrote, on December 
10, 1855 : — 

" To-day newspapers contain the first reli- 
able information in regard to the recent diffi- 
culties. We are usually obliged to feed on 
lies for several days, and so it has been in 
this case. I do not believe you will have the 
United States government against you. But 
if you should, adhere to your determination 
not to allow any circumstances to lead to a 
resistance. If the Kansas men are true to 
the cause of freedom, they will never infringe 
in the least degree the constitution and laws 
of the United States. For the part which 
you have taken, I thank you, my dear sir, 



104 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

from the bottom of my heart, and you will 
receive the gratitude of all men who like 
freedom better than slavery." 

On the same day he wrote to President 
Pierce, who had begun to suspect the settlers 
of treason : — 

" From letters which I have seen from 
the men who exert the most influence in 
Kansas, and who represent the Free State 
party there (a party comprising three fourths 
of the inhabitants), there has been no inten- 
tion of resisting the execution of the laws 
of the United States by the proper officers ; 
nor can any circumstances arise which will 
induce them to resist, or even to question 
the authority of the United States Execu- 
tive. They will not recognize the late legis- 
lature, nor its enactments, nor its officers." 

Again : " I believe you do not overrate the 
intensity of feeling on this subject in the Ter- 
ritory and in the adjoining States ; nor the 
magnitude of the danger which now threat- 
ens the peace of the country from this cause. 
Preparations are making, on the one side for 
attack, and on the other for defence ; and if 
the latter proves ineffectual, we shall, within 
a few months, see what never has been seen in 
this country, and what never can be seen but 



KANSAS STRUGGLE. 105 

once — an internal civil and servile war. 
If future history should trace this back to 
the repeal of the compromise of 1820, your 
administration, otherwise so honorable, would 
receive the condemnation of posterity. 

" Bvit though we have many national sins 
to be atoned for, I trust that the same kind 
Providence which has averted previous dan- 
gers to our Union will avert this, and save 
us from a great national calamity." 

Again, to Hon. Gerritt Smith he wrote : 
"The outcry made by the Administration 
papers against sending arms is to hide the 
Administration's neglect to send orders long 
ago for protecting the settlers. The asser- 
tion that they are to be used in resisting the 
authority of the United States government is 
wholly unfounded." 

Again, when in November, 1856, the prob- 
able election of Buchanan caused the fear 
that what had been gained might in that 
case be lost, pressure from some of the more 
enthusiastic advocates of Kansas suggested 
resistance to the government. At that time 
Mr. Lawrence made this record in his jour- 
nal : — 

"November 5. Went with Governor Rob- 
inson and Senator Henry Wilson to a pri- 



106 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

vate meeting of about twenty Kansas men 
to decide what shall be done if Buchanan is 
elected. Rev. Mr. Higginson advocated re- 
sistance to the government. Mr. Wilson 
spoke against that doctrine very decidedly : 
so did I." 

The New England Emigrant Aid Com- 
pany had nothing to do with the purchase of 
arms for Kansas. A few of the officers of 
the society, who were in a position to know 
the needs of Kansas, as private citizens joined 
with other citizens in the purchase of the 
arms. Mr. Lawrence was treasurer of the 
Aid Company, but in speaking of the arms 
he wrote to Dr. Webb, the secretary of the 
Company, " Dr. Cabot is treasurer of the 
rifle funds. I am treasurer of the relief 
funds." 



VII. 

KANSAS FREE. 

1856. 

The affairs of the Free State men in 
Kansas, who under their own constitution 
had elected Robinson governor ot" Kansas in 
January, 1856, went from bad to worse. The 
President, whom Mr. Lawrence described as 
" a small man who held a great office," 
seemed passive under the pro-slavery influ- 
ences about him : the territorial govern- 
ment gained courage ; and, under Judge Le 
Compte, the grand jury sent out warrants 
for the arrest of the leading Free State men 
as traitors. Lawrence was invaded, the 
printing press was destroyed. Governor Rob- 
inson's house was burned and he was taken 
prisoner, the hotel and shops were sacked 
and gutted. 

It was, however, a struggle which could 
be carried on only in Kansas. The Emigrant 
Aid work was over, and the friends of lib- 



108 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

erty could only show their interest by giving 
aid and encouragement to the impoverished, 
and bringing pressure to bear wpon the Ex- 
ecutive at Washington. Into this work Mr. 
Lawrence now entered. To a Quaker at 
Lynn he wrote a characteristic letter : — 

Boston, September 24, 1856. 
My dear Sir, — In reply to yours I will 
say that all money sent to the treasurer of 
the New England Emigrant Aid Company 
(myself) will be appropriated as you request. 
This company has never sent arms nor am- 
munition. Any supplies of this sort were 
sent by private individuals. . . . This com- 
pany is now forwarding clothing, wliich is 
very much wanted to enable the settlers, who 
have been harassed all summer, and have lost 
their crops partially or wholly, to remain 
during the winter. Few have money to spare 
to lay in a stock of new clothes, and they 
must buy them at a high price, if at all. 
We have a depository for all this in Iowa, 
and it will be used only as it is wanted. 
Shoes. Wliat can Lynn people do so useful 
as collect all the unsalable shoes, if there are 
such things, and send tliem out. They nuist 
have them packed in barrels, or you may 



KANSAS FREE. 109 

pack them and mark them Lynn. A dozen 
or two such boxes would revive their weary 
soles. Send to T. H. Webb, Emigrant Aid 
Eooms, 3 Winter Street, Boston. Now is 
the time. All merchandise must go out at 
once. In many towns the ladies are having- 
" Bees " to sew for Kansas. In some houses 
(my own for one) they have packed up 
everything not in use, and will buy a new 
stock for themselves. Remember that there 
are thirty thousand Free State men, women, 
and children there. Take off your coat, my 
dear friend, and put on your best one : and 
take your overcoat and pantaloons ; save 
only one suit for Sunday and week days, and 
pack up the rest. That will stir up your 
neighbors to do the same. They will be 
warmer without them because their hearts 
will keep them warm all winter, and inside 
heat is the best and lasts the longest. 

Yours very truly, A. A. L. 

To a citizen of Osawatomie, Kansas, he 
wrote : " At this time there is a great effort 
making to get enough to rebuild the hotel 
and to place two more mills where they have 
been promised. I wish my own means were 
commensurate with my desires, and I would 



110 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

do the needful. Some people dread the re- 
sponsibility imposed by wealth ; I have never 
had that feeling, but the reverse, for I feel 
every day and hour, the want of money. 
Twenty times the amount I have to spare 
would not come amiss, in fact the want of it 
makes me more or less unhappy every day. 
This very morning- I have declined to do as 
much as would require my receij)ts for many 
months." 

To the release of Dr. Eobinson, Mr. Law- 
rence gave close attention. He wrote to 
Hon. S. G. Haven, member of Congress, " A 
friend of mine, Dr. Charles Robinson, one 
of the noblest men I ever knew, is at this 
moment a prisoner, guarded by the troops of 
the Federal Government, though he has 
done nothing but what you or I would have 
been proud to do. He is not only a patriot, 
but he is a lover of the constitution and the 
laws. In order to save him from trouble, 
I have taken for him, from the commence- 
ment, the highest legal advice in Massachu- 
setts, and he has followed it." 

Through Mr. Poineroy of Kansas, who was 
now in Washington, Mr. Lawrence tried un- 
successfully to move the President to release 
Dr. Robinson. But another and more effec- 



KANSAS FREE. Ill 

tive method was used. He first wrote the 
draught of such a letter as would have been 
written by a wife imploring the release of 
her husband. This letter was then copied 
by Mrs. Robinson, who took the precaution 
to omit some of the more sentimental pas- 
sages, and was sent to Mrs. Pierce inclosed 
with a letter from Mr. Lawrence's step- 
mother, who was a favorite aunt of the 
President. Mrs. Pierce after reading the 
letter handed it to her husband, and a few 
days later Mr. Lawrence was able to write 
to Mrs. Robinson, " Not long since the Pres- 
ident wrote to my brother that he had given 
such instructions as would gratify him and 
his friends here, especially my mother, whose 
good opinion he valued more than that of all 
the politicians." 

The result was the release of Dr. Robinson. 

In a few months Kansas seemed to be as- 
sured of freedom ; and Mr. Lawrence could 
write to a Kansas acquaintance in July, 
1857 : — 

"• We look on the great question as now 
settled, and all political movements in Kan- 
sas as having chiefly a local interest. Some 
of us stood ready to have made a much 
greater sacrifice had it been necessary, some- 



112 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

what commensurate with that made by your- 
self and others. For months I felt as though 
I held my property and even my life by an 
uncertain tenure ; but with a numerous fam- 
ily of children and a loving wife, I did not 
intend to part with either until it was nec- 
essary to bring up the ' forlorn hope.' But 
I have never had the least doubt about our 
carrying it ultimately. Please not show this 
to any one, for I never wrote it before, and 
never reflect upon it without devout grati- 
tude to God for having spared me so great 
a sacrifice. Now we must be magnanimous 
to the South. Slavery cannot be extended. 
Whether it can ever be got rid of in this 
country is doubtful. It is a curse imposed 
by the sins of our ancestors, and we must 
bear it patiently." 

In January, 1858, Dr. Robinson sent the 
welcome news to Mr. Lawrence : " Thank 
God, the battle is over in Kansas and the 
victory is won. The Lecomptou state gov- 
ernment is secured, and now all is in the 
hands of the people. The border ruffians 
are now opposing their own constitution." 

Eighteen months later, when affairs in 
Kansas were settled. Governor Robinson in 
a friendly letter gave this gratifying tcsti- 



KANSAS FREE. 113 

mony : " You may not know it and the peo- 
ple of Kansas may not be sensible of it, but 
I am very much mistaken in my estimate of 
the influences that have contributed to the 
freedom of Kansas, if we are not far more 
indebted to you than to any other man for 
our success. Without your name, the Emi- 
grant Aid Company would have been a ci- 
pher, and without your encouragement, cour- 
age, and support, what little I have been 
able to do wovdd have been left undone." 

Time and more mature thought seem only 
to have deepened the impression of Governor 
Robinson, who thirty years later writes to 
Mr. Lawrence's son. 

Lawrence, Kansas, June 13, 1887. 
My dear Sir, — I have said innumerable 
times that I believe that without the aid ren- 
dered by Amos A. Lawrence and Eli Thayer, 
Kansas would have been a slave State. I 
think the absence of either would have been 
fatal. I know of no other man whose pres- 
ence was indispensable. When the dust of 
controversy shall have settled or been wiped 
away, it will be clearly seen that without the 
movement in New England, embodied in the 
Emigrant Aid Society, .the South would have 



114 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

had an easy victory, and without the mate- 
rial and moral support to that society of Mr. 
Lawrence and Mr. Thayer, it would have 
been an abortion. It was his individual 
money that sent out the first agents, Mr. 
Branscomb and myself, in June, 1854, within 
one month after the passage of the Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill, and my belief is that all the 
money advanced for months, if not for years, 
was from his private funds, — that is, the 
receipts were always behind the expendi- 
tures, and the company was always in debt 
to its treasurer. The moral support his 
name s'ave the movement cannot be meas- 
ured. 

Mr. Lawrence was one of the very few 
men who seemed to comprehend the struggle 
in its every detail, and to see the end from 
the beginning. To his mind there were no 
accidents. Each step taken by the Free 
State men had a meaning, and every move- 
ment of the Free State party was in ac- 
cordance with a plan well digested and 
understood by him. Mr. Lawrence was 
distinguished for many and great virtues 
and deeds, but the crowning glory of his 
beneficent life will forever be his work in 
saving Kansas to freedom, and, as a con- 



KANSAS FREE. 115 

sequence, redeeming the nation from the 
curse of slavery. Very truly, 

C. Robinson. 

The account of Mr. Lawrence's connec- 
tion with the settlement of Kansas would 
not be complete without the mention of two 
points which suggest historic interest as well 
as some features of his character. 

The first is in relation to the education of 
the people of Kansas. As was seen in Wis- 
consin, he could not throw money and en- 
thusiasm into the development of a piece of 
country, or of a struggling population, with- 
out, at the earliest moment, laying the foun- 
dation of some system of popidar education. 

The earliest settlers of Kansas, like true 
New Englanders, had no sooner driven down 
their tent-pins than they began to talk of a 
college. Fearing that they might fall into 
the error of developing a superficial form of 
higher ediieation before the rudiments had 
been attended to, Mr. Lawrence wrote to 
Dr. Robinson in November, 1854 : — 

"You have laid out grounds for a col- 
lege, and will have a good one, without 
doubt, in time ; but, in the first place, you 
must have a prej^aratory school, where the 



116 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

boys shall be fitted for college. It should 
be for boys, and not for girls. There may 
be a girls' school too ; but the boys should 
be cared for first. My own impression is 
that we have fallen into a great error here in 
Massachusetts, of late years, by raising the 
standard of female education so high that 
physical development has been checked, and 
the constitutions weakened. Our women 
are good scholars, and good school-mis- 
tresses ; but they are unhealthy and weak, 
and do not bear strong children ; and while 
we are refining the intellect, we are injur- 
ing the stock. . . . 

" I wish my finances were so that I could 
give you an order to go on and build at 
once ; but that is out of the question. My 
share in the transaction shall be to pay one 
hundred dollars every month, and I think I 
can continue to do that, if my health is 
spared, for some time to come. The only 
condition which shall be imposed is that 
you shall not mention to any one, nor inti- 
mate to any one, except Mr. Pomeroy (with 
whom you may advise, )''ou having imposed 
the same injunction on him), from whence 
the money proceeds, except that you may 
say, when it is necessary to do so, that it is 



KANSAS FREE. 117 

sent to you from Massachusetts. Perhaps 
some one will appear, who will give money 
to build it up at once, but I know of no one. 
The building when comj)leted should be a 
handsome one, and of stone or brick." 

Two years later the development of the 
people and the heroic deaths of some of the 
young men of Kansas seemed to Mr. Law- 
rence to give both a reason and a name for 
a college, and he then wrote to Rev. Mr. 
Nute, of Lawrence, and Governor Robinson. 

Boston, December 16, 1856. 
Dear Sir, — Some time ago I requested 
Governor Robinson to spend some money for 
me in laying the foundation of a " prepara- 
tory school " in Lawrence, but the title to 
the land was imperfect, and the thing was 
not done. The plan of a preparatoi-y depart- 
ment must be adopted before you can have 
a college ; unless there should be a classical 
school established by the town. Neverthe- 
less, I wish to see the plan adopted, and to 
help along its completion. 1 have thought 
it over much and it is briefly this, viz. : 
You shall have a college, which shall be a 
school of learning, and at the same time 
a monument to perpetuate the memory of 



118 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

those martyrs of liberty who fell during 
the recent struggle. Beneath it their dust 
shall rest. In it shall burn the light of lib- 
erty, which shall never be extinguished till 
it illumines the whole continent. It shall 
be called the " Free State College," and all 
the friends of freedom shall be invited to 
lend it a helping hand. 

Will you oblige me by conversing with 
Governor Robinson in regard to this, and 
with any other whom you would consult, but 
without publicity. I cannot furnish cash 
for building, but I can give what will be 
as good for paying expenses after it is up. 
For instance, having advanced $10,000 to 
the university at Appleton, Wis., last year, I 
hold their notes on interest. This is a good 
institution, and owes little or nothing except 
this. They have about two hundred thou- 
sand dollars' worth of property, and 450 
students on their catalogue. I wish I had 
money, but fear the time is distant when I 
shall have more than enough to carry along 
my plans begun long ago. 

With great regard, yours truly, 

A. A. L. 



KANSAS FREE. 119 

He thus wrote to Dr. Robinson : — 

December 17, 1856. 

Dear Sir, — ... I wrote yesterday to 
Rev. Mr. Nute (with whom I had no per- 
sonal acquaintance) about a monumental 
college, and requested him to consult with 
you. It is an old project of mine, and per- 
haps of yours. At any rate, I do not wish 
to lead off in it at all, and will not. It may 
seem assuming too much to suggest a name 
for it, but do so to prevent my own from 
being thought of, nor would I consent to it 
under any circumstances. It is a grand 
project, and I hope it will be carried out. 
It pains me not to be in a condition to take 
hold and put up the first building. . . . 
Yours, A. A. L. 

The immediate need of the State was not, 
however, a great monumental institution, 
but some educational system in all the towns 
and sparsely settled districts ; therefore Mr. 
Lawrence wrote to Governor Geary : — 

" To secure the adoption in all parts of 
the Territory of the best system of public 
schools seems to be desirable at this early 
day, and I have a plan to communicate to 
some one or two who have the leisure to at- 



120 AMOS A. LA WHENCE. 

tend to its execution. Some funds which I 
intended for the proposed university will 
be better used for the present for this pur- 
pose ; and if the government should make 
adequate provisions for the former, no pri- 
vate contributions would be required. In 
the centre of this continent there should be 
a model State which shall be an example to 
all ; a model for those which come in here- 
after to copy, and a stimulant to the old 
States to keep up a high standard of learn- 
ing, virtue, and patriotism." 

Soon he placed in the hands of Dr. Rob- 
inson and Mr. S. C. Pomeroy, as trustees, 
f 10,000 for educational purposes. The sum 
served as a stimulus to several religious 
bodies to organize educational institutions 
in order to obtain the income. In answer 
to an appeal from one denomination he 
wrote this letter : — 

" The subject of denomination for the 
proposed college may turn out hereafter to 
be very important, and as it is decided now, 
so the institution may or may not be success- 
ful. But if it were left to myself to decide, 
I should be totally at a loss ; and therefore 
it has appeared to be best to allow it to take 
its chance. Though a pretty rigid Episco- 



KANSAS FREE. 121 

palian, I have no prejudice against any body 
of men who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
only hope that such men will control the af- 
fairs of the proposed seminary. The older 
we grow, the more we value simple piety, 
wherever we find it, and the less importance 
we attach to sects." 

When the State University was founded 
in 1863, the 110,000 held by trustees in the 
city of Lawrence induced the government to 
place their university there, where it now 
forms a centre of literary life in that rapidly 
developing country. 



VIII. 

JOHN BROWN. 

1855-1859. 

The other point of interest in Mr. Law- 
rence's Kansas experience is his relations to 
old John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame. 

While John Bi-own was a wool merchant 
in 1843, Mr. Lawrence had made some pur- 
chases of him. When Brown's ionv sons, who 
were in Kansas, sent for their father to come 
out and help fight the border ruffians, he 
sought his old business acquaintance, who, 
as treasurer of the Emigrant Aid Company, 
was informed in Kansas matters. Mr. Law- 
rence gave him a letter to Dr. Robinson, and 
at the same time noted in his diary that " he 
had the look of a determined man." 

The aim of the great body of Free State 
settlers who were led by Robinson was rad- 
ically different from that of Brown. Theirs, 
as we have seen, was to create a free State 
by lawful means; his was to exterminate 



JOHN BROWN. 123 

slavery with gun, pike, and sword. John 
Brown himself said to Dr. Robinson, that 
" the success in securing a free State was 
his failure ; " still, the opposition of the Free 
State party to t!ie first elections of the ter- 
ritorial legislature brouji^ht them together for 
a time. Against the peaceful and constitu- 
tional measures of the Free State citizens 
Brown jorotested, and he soon entered on 
his course of violence and bloodshed, which, 
beginning at Pottawatomie, ended at Har- 
per's Ferry. 

In spite of the fact that Dr. Robinson 
wrote to Mr. Lawrence that Brown was 
"unreliable, and would as soon shoot a 
United States officer as a border ruffian," 
the excitement and violence of the times 
were such that deeds and methods were not 
tested with the nicety of sober judgment. 

In January, 1857, John Brown came to 
Boston to testify before a legislative com- 
mittee which had before it the subject of 
an appropriation of $100,000 for the aid of 
Kansas. 

Mr. Lawrence's journal has this record : — 

" January 6, 1857. Very cold and windy. 
Rode an hour and a haK. Called at the 
United States Hotel on Captain John Brown, 



124 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

the old Kansas hero. Found Governor Rob- 
inson of Kansas at the Emigrant Aid rooms. 
Spent most of the forenoon with him. He 
has resigned his office, and the plan is to 
give Governor Geary, now a United States 
oiftcial, the popular vote, and so help on 
the ' Free State ' movement. Bought a fur 
coat for Robinson. Met Captain Brown ; 
he is trying to raise a company to be ready 
in any emergency that may arise in Kansas. 
He looks a little thinner than when he went 
to Kansas with his sons. He fought the 
Missourians at Osawatomie in such a style 
as struck terror into the whole body of 
marauders. To Professor Longfellow's in 
Cambridge with my wife and Mary. A 
party mostly of yoi\ng people. Played whist 
with Mr. Nathan Appleton, Mrs. Lothrop 
Motley, and Sarah. Home at half past ten, 
very cold. Deep drifts on tlie cross roads, 
Cambridge. 

" 7. Very cold. Busy with Governor Rob- 
inson in forenoon. Captain John Brown, 
the old partisan hero of Kansas warfare, 
came to see me. I had a long talk with 
him. He is a calm, temperate, and pious 
man, but when roused he is a dreadful foe. 
He appears about sixty years old.*' 



JOHN BROWN. 125 

Friends of Brown were collecting money 
for him, and to them Mr. Lawrence wrote : — 

Gentlemen, — Inclosed please find twen- 
ty-five dollars towai'd the fund for the brave 
Captain John Brown, who may appropri- 
ately be called the " Miles Standish " of 
Kansas. Few persons know the character of 
this man, or his services ; and he is the last 
one to proclaim his merits. His severe sim- 
plicity of habits, his determined energy, his 
heroic courage in the time of trial, all based 
on a deep religious faith, make him a true 
representative of the Puritanic warrior. I 
knew him before he went to Kansas, and 
have known more of him since, and should 
esteem the loss of his services, from pov- 
erty, or any other cause, almost irreparable. 
Perhaps there are those who would come 
forward and support his family while he 
gives his time to completing and keeping up 
the military organization of the Free State 
men. It would afford me pleasure to be 
one of ten, or a smaller number, to pay a 
thousand dollars per annum till the admis- 
sion of Kansas into the Union, for this pur- 
pose. A. A. L. 



126 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

The day after Brown's sj^eech before the 
committee Mr. Lawrence inclosed seventy- 
dollars to him, saying, " It is for your own 
personal use, and not for the cause in any 
other way than that." 

Soon after, Mr. Lawrence received this 
letter written on the back of one of John 
Brown's " Circulars to the Friends of Free- 
dom." 

New Haven, Conk., March 11, 1857. 

Dear Sir, — The offer you so kindly 
made through the telegraj)h some time since 
emboldens me to propose the following for 
your consideration. For one thousand dol- 
lars cash I am offered an improved piece 
of land which with a little property I now 
have might enable my family, consisting of a 
wife and five minor children (the youngest 
not yet three years old), to procure a sub- 
sistence should I never return to them ; my 
wife being a good economist, and a real old- 
fashioned business woman. She has gone 
through the two past winters in our open 
cold house, unfinished outside, and not jalas- 
tered. I have no other income or means 
for their support. I have never hinted to 
any one else that I had a thought of asking 
for any helj) to provide in any such way for 



JOHN BROWN. 127 

my family, and should not to you, but for 
your own suggestion. I fully believe I shall 
get the help I need to operate with West. 
Last night a private meeting of some gen- 
tlemen here voted to raise me one thousand 
dollars in New Haven, for that purpose. If 
you feel at all inclined to encourage me in 
the measure I have proposed I shall be 
grateful to get a line from you, care of 
Massasoit House, Springfield, Mass. ; and 
will call when I come again to Boston. I 
do not feel disposed to weary you with my 
oft-repeated visitations. I believe I am in- 
debted to you as the unknown giver of one 
share of Emigrant Aid stock ; as I can think 
of no other so likely to have done it. Is my 
appeal right ? 

Very respectfully your friend, 

John Broavn. 

To this Mr. Lawrence answered : — 

Boston, March 20, 1857. 

My dear Sir, — Your letter from New 
Haven is received. I have just sent to Kan- 
sas nearly fourteen thousand dollars to es- 
tablish a fund to be used : 1. To secure the 
best system of common schools for Kansas 
that exists in the country. 2. To establish 
Sunday-scbools. 



128 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

The property is held by two trustees in 
Kansas, and cannot return to me. On this 
account, and because I am alwaj^s short of 
money, I have not the cash to use for the 
purpose you name. But in case anything 
should occur while you are engaged in a 
good cause, to shorten your life, you may be 
assured that your wife and children shall be 
cared for more liberally than you now pro- 
pose. The family of " Captain John Brown 
of Osawatomie " will not be turned out to 
starve in this country, until liberty herself is 
driven out. 

Yours with regard, A. A. L. 

He immediately drew up this subscription 
paper and headed it with the names of his 
brother and himself : — 

" The family of Captain John Brown of 
Osawatomie has no means of support, owing 
to the oppression to which he has been sub- 
jected in Kansas Territory. It is proposed 
to put them (his wife and five children) in 
possession of the means of supporting them- 
selves as far as possible for persons in their 
situation. The undersigned, therefore, will 
pay the following sums, provided one thou- 
sand dollars shall be raised. With this sum 



JOHN BROWN. 129 

a small farm can be now purchased in the 
neighborhood of their late residence in Es- 
sex County, New York." 

But Brown was anxious to have his affairs 
settled and his family provided for, as his life 
was always in danger. So in a few days he 
sent this letter of urgency to Mr. Lawrence : 

Springfield, Mass., April 16, 1857. 
Dear Sir, — I expect to leave these parts 
within four or five days, and would be most 
grateful for the proceeds of the subscription 
you so generously started for me, so that I 
may effect the arrangement before I part 
with my family. I am sorry to burden you 
with any of ray wants, but I must cast my- 
self on those most kind. Please direct to 
Jolm (not Captain) Brown, care of Massasoit 
House, Springfield, Mass. Please say to me 
what is the fate of the subscription at any 
rate, and greatly oblige your sincere friend. 
Very respectfully yours, 

John Brown. 

After a few months the sura was raade up 
with the aid of Mr. George L. Stearns and 
a few other friends of Brown and the farm 
at North Elba, where his widow lived for 
several years, was paid for. 



130 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

In the mean time Brown had started for 
Kansas, followed by a letter from Mr. Law- 
rence to Governor Robinson, in which he 
said : " Old Brown (John Brown) will be 
your humble servant and an efficient one, 
but he requires some coaxing as well as some 
controlling power near him." 

In this Mr. Lawrence reckoned without 
his host. 

Two years later, May 28, 1859, Mr. Law- 
rence recorded in his journal, " Captain John 
Brown of Osawatomie called to see me 
with one of his rangers. He has been steal- 
ing negroes and running them off fi-om Mis- 
souri. He has a monomania on that sub- 
ject, I think, and would be hanged if he were 
taken in a slave State. He has allowed his 
beard to grow since I saw him last, which 
changes his ai^pearance entirely, as it is al- 
most white and very long. He and his com- 
panion both have the fever and ague, some- 
what, probably a righteous visitation for their 
fanaticism." 

In the following October the country, 
which was in a sensitive frame of mind, was 
startled by the news of the attack on Har- 
per's Ferry and the attempt to arouse a 
slave insurrection : and then occurred the 



JOHN BROWN. 131 

trial of " Old Brown," who by his courage 
and evident sincerity won the admiration of 
millions who condemned his methods. The 
journal of Mr. Lawrence at this time runs : 

" October 18. The telegraph gives an ac- 
count of an attempt at insurrection among 
the negroes at Harper's Ferry under the 
head of my Kansas acquaintance, ' Old Cap- 
tain John Brown of Osawatomie.' The 
old man has become a desperate abolitionist, 
and hates the slaveholders the more because 
he believes that they are responsible as a 
class for the death of one of his sons and 
the imprisonment and insanity of another." 

" 21. Cold. Heniy Wilson came to see 
me about Brown. He thinks it will have a 
very bad effect on the Republican party ; 
thinks all such attempts must fail always. 
Brown's conversations are all oiven in the 
newspapers by telegraph. He is a brave 
man, and if he is hanged he will die a mar- 
tyr to his hatred of slavery." 

" 24. G. L. Stearns came at my request. 
He told me that the rifles were the lot which 
were turned over to ' Old Brown ' by the 
National Committee ; he did not suppose that 
they would be used for an insurrection, but 
only to defend the Kansas settlers." 



132 AMOS A. LA WRENCE. 

"26. Dr. Samuel G. Howe came to ask 
me if I would be one of ten to furnish good 
counsel to defend ' Old Brown,' to which I 
agreed." 

"November 1. The newspapers are full of 
Old Brown and his trial. He carries himself 
wonderfully well. He scorns the plea of in- 
sanity which was set up by his counsel." 

" 5. Old Brown convicted. He made a 
brief speech that was worthy of the best of 
the early reformers. To-day I was told that 
his wife was in Boston, and I went with Dr. 
Webb to the American House to see her. 
She appears well. She is a large, strong 
woman, good-looking, and when young she 
must have been handsome. She feels the 
loss of her two sons and the critical situation 
of her husband very much. She says that 
it is a matter of religious conviction with 
her husband ; that he would make the same 
attempt again if set free. I admire the old 
man ; but considering that three persons 
were killed by his party, I do not see how 
he can escape death, even had the occurrence 
been in a free State. He will be lauded by 
the abolitionists as a martyred hero, and he 
does resemble that. His death will hasten 
the I'emoval of slaves from Virginia." 



JOHN BROWN. 133 

" 22. Rain-storm. The excitement in 
Virginia is very great ; the fear of insurrec- 
tion and all kinds of fear." 

" 25. Looked over the report of the com- 
mittee of Congress which went to Kansas in 
1856 to investigate the troubles there. I 
did this in order to ascertain whether John 
Brown committed murder at Pottawatomie 
Creek in May, 1856. The affidavits show 
that a party which he commanded did take 
five men from their houses at night on the 
24th of May, 1856, and murdered them at 
once. These were pro-slavery men, and they 
were killed when there was danger that the 
Missourians would get possession of the gov- 
ernment of Kansas." 

" 29. Great preparations for hanging 
Brown. Two thousand troops in barracks 
to prevent any attempt at rescue." 

" December 3. Old Brown hanged with 
great ceremony. He died grandly. Never- 
theless he must be called a fanatic. De- 
clined to sign a call for expressing adher- 
ence to the Union, not being conscious that 
I have ever done or said anything to endan- 
ger the Union, and not wishing to certify my 
adherence to the Union very often for the 
benefit of politicians." 



134 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

" 5. Declined to serve as vice-president 
of the Union meeting at Faneuil Hall, be- 
cause I do not vi^ish to help the Democrats. 

"6. Storm. Agreed to be at Faneuil 
Hall and act as an officer of the meeting. 
Public meeting at Faneuil Hall. A grand 
affair. The crowd was very great even on 
the outside. Ex-Governor Lincoln presided. 
Though over eighty years old he appeared 
well. Mr. Everett spoke as well as I ever 
heard him. Then Caleb Gushing. The 
enthusiasm was ti-emendous whenever the 
Union was alluded to. The Democrats will 
try to make something of it." 

"11. Old John Brown was buried at 
North Elba in New York near his own 
house. A favorite tune of his was ' Blow ye 
the trumpet, blow.' This was sung by the 
neighbors." 

On the second day of Brown's trial Mr, 
Lawrence wrote to Governor Wise of Vii'- 
ginia : — 

Boston, October 20, 1859. 

Dear Sir, — From the telegraphic re- 
port of the trial of Captain Brown it appears 
to be uncertain whether he will have a trial 
in the usual form. Permit one who loves 
the whole country as much as yourself to 



JOHN BROWN. 135 

urge on you the necessity of securing this. 
Brown is a Puritan whose mind has become 
disordered by hardship and ilhiess. He has 
the qualities wliich endear him to our peo- 
ple, and his sudden execution would send a 
thrill of horror through the whole North. 
From his blood would spring an army of 
martyrs, all eager to die in the cause of hu- 
man liberty. I am sure that I express the 
desire of all conservative men here, when I 
beg you to insist on a fair trial. 
Respectfully and truly, 

Your obedient servant, 

A. A. L. 

Soon after the trial he wrote to Governor 
Robinson, " If they hang Old Brown, Vir- 
ginia will be a free State sooner than they 
expect. He has played his part grandly, 
though the plot of the play is a poor one." 

The evidence at his trial brought out the 
facts that Brown had been planning his raid 
for months, that money which had been 
given him for Kansas had been appropri- 
ated for this scheme, and that he had sur- 
reptitiously gained possession of the rifles 
which Mr. Lawrence had bought of the 
Sharps Company for use in Kansas, and 



136 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

which were at that time hekl in trust by the 
Kansas National Committee. 

The result was that though Brown had 
confided his scheme to a few of his aboli- 
tionist friends, the Southern politicians had 
an opportunity, which they used with effect, 
of drawing into the affair the names of 
many men who had assisted Brown at other 
times. 

On this account Mr. Lawrence wrote this 
letter to Senator Jefferson Davis : — 

Boston, December 22, 1859. 

Dear Sir, — I am sorr}^ to see, by a re- 
ported speech of yours, that you are among 
those who have been duped by vile fellows 
who believe that a large number of decent 
men in this part of the country are impli- 
cated in the affair of Harper's Ferry. 
Among other names I find my own, and I 
am the person alluded to as a cotton specu- 
lator wlio employed Brown to do his work. 
To show you how absurd this whole plan of 
libel will appear when it is examined, I. will 
state my own case. 

1st. I am the son of Amos Lawrence, 
now deceased, whom you knew, and who 
brought me up to be a " national " man, as 



JOHN BROWN. 137 

we imderstand that term. 2d. I have been 
so decided in my own opposition to the for- 
mation o£ sectional parties, that those who 
voted for Filhnore in Massachusetts, in 
1856, nominated me for governor, but I de- 
clined. They have requested me to be a 
candidate every year since that, and last 
year I did run against Mr. Banks. 3d. 
Though largely interested in cotton facto- 
ries as a shareholder, I never owned a bale 
of cotton in my life, and never had any busi- 
ness with any person whom I knew as a 
speculator in cotton. Some years ago I 
took a great interest in our jjeople who set- 
tled in Kansas, many of whom went from 
Lowell and Lawrence with their families. 
They were shockingly abused, and if it were 
not for my wife and seven children at home, 
I would have taken a more active part in 
that business. But that has passed long 
ago ; it did not induce me to join the Re- 
publicans, though it did most of my friends. 
I took part with Mr. William Appleton 
and my relative Mr. F. Pierce in the Fan- 
euil Hall meeting here the other day, and 
with most of our people am called a " hun- 
ker," and even in Mississippi should be a 
law and order man. You will do me a 



138 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

favor, if you will prevent my being sum- 
moned to Washington on so foolish an er- 
rand as to testify about Harper's Ferry. 
Respectfully and truly yours, 

A. A. L. 

When in 1879 the confession of one of 
Brown's Pottawatomie party brought out 
into clearer light than ever before the brutal 
midnight attack on the Doyles and the al- 
most savage methods of Brown's humanity, 
Mr. Lawrence became more firmly convinced 
in his early opinion that Brown's cai"eer was 
that of an earnest heroic spirit who, brooding 
over the wrongs of slavery and the death of 
his sons in the cause of freedom, had de- 
veloped a monomania which regarded no 
law, provided only that his purpose was 
accomplished in his own way. 



IX. 

POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 

1856-1861. 

His Kansas experience did not move Mr. 
Lawrence from his hunkerish sympathies in 
politics. He still felt that the great danger 
to the Union was the encouragement of sec- 
tional spirit. In criticising an anti-slavery 
resolve, he said : " By assuming that the 
honor and virtue and patriotism of the 
country are concentrated in the free States, 
or that these qualities largely preponderate 
here, we place ourselves in a position which 
we cannot maintain, and we cherish that 
sectional exclusiveness and that love of sec- 
tional power which is more dangerous to our 
national existence and to the true interests 
of liberty than anything else. 

The elections of Sumner and then of Wil- 
son to the Senate seemed to him little less 
than calamities. Though the trimming pol- 
icy of the Whig Representatives in Congress 



140 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

gave him but little satisfaction, yet the Ab- 
olitionist and Republican policies were far 
more dangerous. 

His patriotism led him to take an active 
interest in the strengthening of the conser- 
vative party, but he disliked to be drawn 
into political associations. " I can do noth- 
ing here," he wrote to a friend at Washing- 
ton, " without going into state politics, a 
dirty pool, but not easy to keep out of 
always. The leaders of the American party 
are neither my friends nor acquaintances." 
But the fact that he was a conservative and 
had at the same time been so active in 
attacking the slave power in Kansas made 
him an available candidate for the party 
which was struggling in vain to hold the 
Whig and Republican elements together. 
The result was that, in 185G, he was nomi- 
nated by the " Americans " for governor, 
although he had already declined the nomi- 
nation of the Springfield Convention as a 
Fremont presidential elector. 

Believing that his acceptance of the nom- 
ination from those parties would discourage 
his friends in Kansas, he felt justified in de- 
clining. It was just at this time that Mr. 
Sumner was recovering from the assault upon 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 141 

him by Brooks in the Senate, which sent 
such a shock through the country at what 
was considered a typical blow of slavery, 
brutal and cowardly. As the assault had 
been made on account of Mr. Sumner's 
speech on "The Crime against Kansas," Mr. 
Lawrence, in spite of his strong antipathy 
to Mr, Sumner's general policy, wrote this 
invitation : — 

Cottage Farm, Brookline, October 10, 1856. 

My dear Sir, — Having been informed 
that you contemplate making a visit to Bos- 
ton, and knowing how difficult it will be for 
you to avoid the fatigue and excitement 
which must attend your stay within the city, 
I beg to offer you a home at my house. 

You may prefer to be with some one of 
those who agree with you in regard to party 
politics, and you will without doubt have 
many invitations from nearer and dearer 
friends than I am ; but I assure you that no 
one will give you a more cordial welcome. 
With much regard, yours truly, 

A. A. L. 

It seems hardly credible to-day that for 
tliis act of hospitality Mr. Lawrence met 



142 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

with criticism from politicians, and felt 
oblioed to write to Professor Lonofellow. 
" ]\Ir. Sumner's speech on the ' Kansas 
Crime ' alone entitles him to the gratitude 
of every man who has an American heart, 
whatever may be his politics. He will 
always have mine, and shall be welcome to 
my house as long as I have one." 

The return of Mr. Sinnner to Boston was 
accompanied by an enthusiasm that sug- 
gested a popular sympathy with him if not 
also with his political principles. Mr. Law- 
rence recalls the reception : — 

"November 3. The newspapers advertise 
Mr. Sumner's reception to take place to-day : 
that he will be received by a committee at 
my house, thence taken to Boston, where he 
will be received at the Roxbury line by the 
Maj^or and city authorities and a cavalcade 
of citizens, and an address to be made to 
him by Josiah Quincy, Sen. (eighty-six years 
old), thence to the state house, where he 
w'ill be welcomed by the Governor. 

" I went to Boston as usual. Came out 
at one. Found Mr. Sumner here, with Mr. 
Longfellow, Rev. Dr. Huntington, Dr. Perry, 
his physician, and his brother George. 

" He lunched, conversed with a reporter for 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 143 

the press, and gave him his speech in manu- 
script, after which I sent the reporter to 
town. He appears well when sitting, but is 
feeble when standing. I gave him a parlor 
to himself, and shut him up to avoid fatigue 
and enable him to prepare his speeches. He 
was here an hour and a half. I gave him 
some wine before starting, then delivered 
him over to the committee, who were in 
barouches. They had reserved a seat for me 
by the side of Mr. Sumner, but I declined 
to go. I thought the connnittee were disap- 
pointed, and also at seeing a Fillmore flag 
flying at the side of my house. But they 
had told me the reception was to be with- 
out distinction of party, and I took them on 
their own ground. After dinner I drove to 
town with Sarah and the children. Saw the 
procession from Mr. Appleton's. A long 
cavalcade, music, then carriages with Mr. 
Sumner and his friends." 

Again in 1858 he was induced to lead a 
forlorn hope. He wrote to Governor Robin- 
son of Kansas : — 

July 24, 1858. 

I am under the harrow again in regard 
to politics, and do not see any way of escape. 
If put up to run against Mr. Banks, I shall 



144 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

be beaten soundly. If f oi- Congress, I might 
be successful ; but it would be like cutting 
off my riglit hand to leave my wife and 
seven children (one recently), my business 
and all, to go to Washington. Without 
any desire to shirk the responsibility which 
every good citizen ought to be willing to 
assume, 1 am distressed beyond measure. 
If it were not for making myself ridiculous 
I would join the red-hot Republicans (who 
have many candidates) and so get rid of the 
difficulty. 

In 1859 he would not allow his name to 
be used ; but at the time of the great pres- 
idential election in 1860 he had, as four 
years before, thrown himself with great 
earnestness into the effort to unite the con- 
servative elements of the different parties 
and to ward off the danger of disunion by 
the development of the National Union 
party. In March, his journal records, " For 
several days I have been very much occupied, 
having, in addition to my other pursuits, 
taken up the project of forming a party of 
conciliation in the country. ' Blessed are 
the peacemakers ' is one of the promises. I 
have written a great many letters to influ- 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 145 

ential men throughout the State, ex-gov- 
ernors and others, and have engaged in 
bringing together a convention on the 29th. 
Besides this, for several weeks I have em- 
ployed agents to form ' Union ' clubs in the 
towns and cities. It is a work of great 
labor, and I have no idea whether it will 
not appear a quixotic effort after all ; it cer- 
tainly will be so regarded if it fails." 

It took but a few weeks to show that the 
sentiment of Massachusetts had passed far 
beyond the platform of the Union party. 
But as the success of one of the other par- 
ties seemed to forebode disunion or war, 
loyalty to the Union kept a few thousand 
men together. Other candidates like Mr. 
Lawrence declined to be offered as a sacri- 
fice, but at the convention he was pressed 
to yield his own preference, and after the 
nomination he went home, feeling, as he re- 
corded in his journal, " better for having 
done my duty." The only other consolation 
that he received is found in the last sentence 
of this letter from his friend and classmate, 
E. Rockwood Hoar : — 

Concord, September 13, 1860. 

My dear Amos, — Considering, as you 
say, the state of the weather, the news from 



146 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Maine, and the prospects of your j)arty, I 
admire your pluck. 

I liope you will, some time or other be- 
fore you die, belong to some respectable or- 
ganization, having some definite principles, 
so that I can vote for you. 

In the mean time, 1 congratulate your lit- 
tle squad on having a candidate who is nei- 
ther " for sale or to let." 

Very truly yours, 

' E. E. Hoar. 

His strong political feeling did not affect 
his personal regard for others, for at the 
same time that he was working for the over- 
throw of Sumner's and Wilson's policy, he 
was writing to a fellow-member of the cor- 
poration of Harvard College that it was 
high time that Mr. Sumner be given the 
degree of LL. D., and he was also lending 
small sums of money to Mr. Wilson, who 
was as conscientious in the payment of his 
smallest debts as he was honest in all his 
financial relations with the government. 

During these years from 185G to 1861 
Mr. Lawrence followed the hapj)y routine 
of his private and business life. 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 147 

After removing to Longwood, in 1850, 
with two daughters and two sons, three 
more daughters were born, so that by 1858 
the voices of seven children filled the house. 

His position as president of the trustees 
of Groton Academy called him back at in- 
tervals to the old homestead, where in the 
barn, down at the meadow, or in the apple 
orchard and beside the cider press he re- 
newed his old associations. He enjoyed 
nothing more than a call upon his old pen- 
sioner, " Uncle Oliver," whom he always 
kept supplied with tobacco, snuff, and other 
more useful though no better appreciated 
articles ; or he would sit and talk for an 
hour or more in the cabin which he pro- 
vided for the old negi-o nurse, " Peter," who 
used to sing his negro melodies to Mr. Law- 
rence when, as a motherless child, he lived 
upon the old farm. Writing to his aunt he 
said, " Good New England living ought to 
be encouraged by every head of a New Eng- 
land family, and at our house we always 
hope to have it. Apples and cider compose 
an im])ortant element. Of the last we crack 
365 bottles in a year, and I only hope my 
children will drink nothing stronger during 
their lives. They surely can have nothing 
better." 



148 AAfOS A. LAWRENCE. 

His morning ride on horseback from 
Longwood to Boston, often covering eight 
miles about the country before getting to his 
office at nine o'clock, his return in the after- 
noon, and then a drive, a skate, or coast with 
the children, or a game of quoits with some 
of the neighbors, were his relaxations. A 
few extracts from his journals suggest the 
tenor of his life. 

" January 4, 1858. Rode over to Jamaica 
Pond to see about skating. Found it good. 
Met the omnibus driver, Mr. Kemp, to whom 
I gave a hundred-dollar bank bill by mis- 
take. Told him to give half of it to Duffy 
the blacksmith for the poor." 

" April 19. Anniversary of the battle of 
Lexington. May God give us courage to 
defend the liberty of the institutions which 
our fathers have handed down to us." 

" June 19. Last night a circumstance 
reminded me of the passage of years. At 
midnight I was awakened by vocal music 
from under the trees near my window. It 
was some Cambridge students. I could 
hardl}^ realize that these young men have 
been born since I graduated. Poor Mary, 
for whom the serenade was intended, could 
not be awakened, for her door was locked. 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 149 

" Tliis afternoon we drove down upon the 
Western Avenue to see tlie regatta. The 
boys with me in my open wagon and the 
girls in the open carriage. ' The Harvard ' 
beat in the large boat race." 

" July 5. The boys came into my room as 
usual, when they were dressed, to say their 
prayers. I prayed with them and for them, 
that they might always love their country, 
and be ready to suffer and even to die in its 
defence." 

" August 5. Atlantic telegraph laid and 
a message received. The whole country is 
electrified. Every assembly took notice of 
it. Thanksgivings offered by the clergy." 

" October 22. In riding through Roxbury 
I saw immense placards calling on 'the 
friends of Amos A. Lawrence and Newell 
A. Thompson ' to be present at a great 
ratification meeting this evening. Such 
things can do my name no good. I hope 
they will not result in any harm either to 
the name or to its owner. No one will sus- 
pect me of standing as a candidate this time 
in the expectation of getting into office." 

" 28. Beautiful days. Up to top of Co- 
rey's Hill. Not a newspaper nor a public 
speaker has abused me. One of Mr. Banks's 



150 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

newspapers spoke of me in complimentary 
terms yesterday." 

" December 13. Rode over to Jamaica 
Pond early, with my skates in my pocket. 
Tied my horse to a tree and skated half an 
hour on the most beautiful surface I ever 
saw. There was not a mark on the virgin 
ice, and as I flew over it I was reminded of 
' angels' wings.' Reached town at nine. 

" The Salmon Falls Company's account 
so bad that I have made an offer in writing 
to the directors through the treasurer to give 
up commissions enough to make the account 
up to three per cent, or !|oO,000." 

"" 25. Christmas. Once more this delight- 
ful da}^ returns, bringing with it the grateful 
memory of a Saviour's birth, and of his life 
on earth spent in poverty and suffering that 
He might bring to us salvation. There are 
the memories, too, of those who have been 
dear to us in this world, and who are now, as 
we trust, enjoying a better life in heaven. 

" We had spent the evening with the chil- 
dren at Mr. Nathan Appleton's, where were 
about a hundred persons, young and old, rel- 
atives of the family and near friends. St. 
Nicholas (little Nathan) came in during the 
dancing, bringing a large basket on his 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 151 

back In which was a pretty pi-esent for every 
one of the young people. Then there was 
supper, and we returned to the parlors, 
where Mrs. Appleton arranged an old-fash- 
ioned contra-dance and invited me to be her 
partner, which I accepted. All this kept us 
up till quarter before eleven. But the chil- 
dren were awake in the morning not less 
early than usual, feeling for their stockings 
and admiring their presents. 

" We went to Sunday-school and church. 
All were happy and I trust thankful. At 
five we went to town and dined at Mr. Wil- 
liam Appleton's, where there was another 
gathering in the evening. At ten we left 
for home, bringing all at one trip, nine in- 
side the carriage and myself riding as foot- 
man behind. If their precious lives are 
spared I would be content to ride always 
on the outside. May God bless them, and 
grant that they may never have cause to 
look back with sorrow on their present days 
of innocence." 

" 31. To-day my partnership with Mr. 
Mason is dissolved after about fifteen years. 
Walked to town against a driving snow- 
storm. Stopped at William's house ; found 
him not very well. He is an invalid not 



152 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

unfrequently, and sometimes I have anxiety 
on his account. But I trust that he will be 
spared to us. He is very dear to me, as an 
only brother ought to be. This night, in 
1852, my dear, good father went to heaven. 
God grant that we may follow him whenever 
our time on this earth shall be ended." 

"1859. January 10. Cold. 14° below 
zero at my house. Much colder elsewhere, 
especially in New Hampshire and Vermont. 
38 in Montpelier and in some other places. 
Rode over to Cambridge. Asked a boy 
about a poor woman who is dying of con- 
sumption. He knew her and told me she 
had been burnt out (of the old Porter Tav- 
ern) and was living near. He jumped on 
my horse and rode him up and down the road 
while I went in and found the poor woman. 
She was overjoyed at seeing me, and laughed 
and cried by turns. 

"11. Went over to see my poor woman 
again." 

" May 22. Sunday. Across the fields 
with the children (how beautiful they are !) 
to Sunday-school. With such company how 
can any father wish for any situation in life 
better than mine : how can any one have 
more advantages than I have? Rev. Dr. 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 153 

Stone preached two excellent sermons ; and 
at sunset we enjoyed tlie sermon of nature 
in the golden colors of the sky. 

"23. Kode up Corey's Hill. What a 
view ! The country is clothed with verdure 
and with flowers ; the trees covered with 
blossoms. The blessing of God seems to be 
present in such a fair scene." 

" 27. Cricket in the afternoon in my 
grove with the children." 

" June 11. The spring is most beautiful. 
My horseback ride in the morning exhila- 
rates me beyond anything which is not ar- 
tificial excitement, and it is much more sat- 
isfactory than any art can produce. From 
Corey's Hill the view is wonderful." 

" July 9. Solferino. Hell on this beauti- 
ful earth, and men turned into devils. God 
grant that the result may in some way con- 
duce to extend his kingdom in this world of 
fallen men." 

" 19. Bought some 25-pound dumb-bells, 
as those which I have used are too light." 

" December 27. Went to see F. E. Par- 
ker and asked him if he would be presi- 
dent of Harvard College if he were asked. 
He was very much surprised ; said it seemed 
to him ridiculous, but was too serious to 



154 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

answer then. I told him that I could vote 
for him coaiidently, and I believed Judge 
Hoar would, and his chau'^e of election was 
as good as that of any one. 

" 28. Parker declines." 

"July 18, 1860. Commencement. At 
Cambridge at 8 in president's room. Cor- 
poration there. We tried on the President's 
new cap. At ten we went to the librai-y. 
Soon the Governor came with his aids, the 
overseers, etc. ; also Mr. Douglas, United 
States Senator. Procession moved to church 
with a band of music. On the platform 
were Messrs. Sumner, Wilson, Banks, Doug- 
las, all men of mark. My class mustered six- 
teen ; twenty-five years out of college. Met 
in a room near the church ; pleasing but sad 
remembrances. 

" 19. Inauguration of president at Cam- 
biidge. Heavy rain in morning. Went to 
Cambridge in the saddle ; got to Boston 
from there at half past nine, wet through. 
Home at two and clianged dress, then to 
Cambridge again. Went up in the pulpit 
where Mr. Felton was delivering his address 
with great earnestness. The Governor and 
all the dignitaries of church and state, in- 
cluding ex-Presidents Everett, Quincy, and 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 155 

Sparks. Mr. Quincy is quite feeble. I 
spoke to him afterwards and asked him if 
he was going to dinner with us, and he said 
' No,' he was too feeble, I fear the old 
gentleman has taken part for the last time 
in the celebration oi his Alma Mater. 

"After the exeicises in the church, we had 
the grand dinner in Harvard Hall ; Henry 
Lee with his t\/enty marshals managing 
everything. I sat at the official table, next 
to Dr. Walton, the oldest graduate after 
Mr. Quincy ; he is nearly ninety years old. 
Governor Banks spoke exceedingly well ; so 
did Rev. Dr. Osgood. After satisfying my 
appetite, I went down and sat with my 
class." 

" August 14. Up at five. Exercise with 
dumb-bells and in other ways. In afternoon 
went with Sarah and the two boys to Marion 
near Wareham, about two hours on the Old 
Colony Railroad. ?ound a good hotel. In 
the evening I danced a hornpipe with Judge 
Joel Parker, very much to the amusement of 
my good wife." 

" 29. President Felton came after his re- 
turn from Canada. He speaks well of the 
Prince of Wales ; says he should think he 
might rank number twenty in a class of 



166 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

eighty if he should study for it ; thinks he 
has been well trained." 

" October 8. Two thousand citizens with 
torches and bands of music assembled from 
Boston and the neighboring towns and made 
me a visit in the evening. I stood in the 
doorway and received their salutes with my 
wife and children. I hope that the mem- 
bers of my family will not think more of 
this kind of applause than it is worth. 

" 26. A panic at the South about Lin- 
coln's election. There is no cause for alarm 
from Mr. Lincoln, even if he had not 
against him both houses of Congress. The 
effort at the South for secession may pro- 
duce anxiety, and they will not cease im- 
mediately after the election, if Lincoln 
should be chosen." 

" November 7. Lincoln chosen president 
by immense majorities in almost all the free 
States. Breckinridge comes next in elec- 
toral votes ; then Bell, and Douglas last. 
Andrew chosen governor of Massachusetts 
by an immense majority." 

" 29. Thanksgiving. Received notice to 
meet a town committee on Bradley's Hill, 
about buying it. Then went to church. 
Afterwards to see Henry Upham, who is un- 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 157 

well. The children went to James Amory's 
in the evening. Tiie reminiscences grow too 
numerous to make such clays cheerful ones, 
except as we should be cheerful in approach- 
ing the end of our journey." 

" God bless my dear ones, and give them 
all grace to serve Thee all their days. 
Grant that we may all meet, when this life 
is over, in heaven. 

" God bless my distracted country. Turn 
the hearts of the people toward each other 
again. Save us from disunion, and save us 
from shedding fraternal blood." 

From 1857 to 1860 Mr. Lawrence was 
treasurer of Harvard College. It was an 
added duty which was undertaken out of 
loyalty to the college, and which yielded a 
good return in many pleasant associations 
with its officers and in a lengthened morning 
ride. 

" 1858. January 21. Over to Cambridge 
by arrangement with President Walker. 
Found him at breakfast (eight o'clock), rode 
round to the unfinished Appleton Chapel, 
where he soon met me and took me inside. 
There is no wood-work yet : nothing but 
the bare stone walls. He described to me 



158 A3fOS A. LAWRENCE. 

the proposed arrangement of the interior, 
which 1 remarked as quite like an Episco- 
pal church. He replied : ' There is such 
a thing as church architecture ; and as long 
as we have undertaken to build a church we 
may as well have a real one. It shall not 
belong to any sect. Here all sects must 
unite.' " 

The magnetic spirit of Agassiz soon drew 
the interest of Mr. Lawrence towards the 
foundation of the museum. 

" June 12. Professor Agassiz came to 
see me about his additional salary. He 
says he wishes to create the most complete 
collection of natural history in the world ; 
so that it shall command students not only 
from all parts of this country, but from 
Europe. I said to him, ' We shall draw 
students if we have the right man,' pointing 
to him. 'Yes,' he added, 'the man may 
draw students, but he cannot teach forever. 
He must go ; and then if you have not some 
other inducement, the students will go. It 
is such a collection of objects as I will make 
which will perpetuate the school.' He is a 
frank, hearty-looking man." 

*' November 17. President Walker, Chief 
Justice Shaw, Judge G. T. Bigelow, Rev. 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 159 

Dr. Putnam, Professors Agassiz and Long- 
fellow, Messrs. David Sears, W. Appleton, 
E. Eoekwood Hoar, Jared Sparks, and J. 
A. Lowell dined here at four o'clock. They 
had an agreeable meeting. Chief Justice 
Shaw took Mrs. Lawrence in to dinner, 
though I asked Dr. Walker to do so ; the 
former (who is seventy-eight) being more 
active than Dr. Walker, who is lame. The 
dinner was cooked by our own cook, Marion, 
and they all were cheerful and even gay ; 
nor did they leave the dining-room until 
they went away. Mr. Agassiz sat next to 
me and talked all the time. I asked him 
whether some anecdotes about him in the 
newspapers to-day were true, but he had not 
seen them. Then I repeated one about his 
replying to a person who offered him a large 
sum for some lectures, ' that he was too 
busy to waste his time in making money ; ' 
and this he pronounced to be true." 

"January 21, 1859. Evening to James 
Lawrence's. Meeting of forty gentlemen 
about a building for Agassiz collection. Mr. 
Gray has given 850,000 for increasing and 
supporting the collection already made. Ex- 
Governor Clifford in the chair. Those who 
made remarks were Dr. Walker, Governor 



160 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Banks, ex-Governor Washburn, E. R. Hoar, 
Mr. George Ticknor, Dr. Gould, Dr. Jacob 
Bigelow, and myself. But Agassiz made 
the speech of the evening, very modest and 
characteristic ; all for the science, nothing 
for himself. Dr. Bigelow introduced a vote 
and called the collection the ' Agassiz Mu- 
seum,' etc., but Agassiz interruj)ted him and 
declined decidedly. ' Personalities,' said he, 
' must be banished from science.' " 

" 26. Wednesday. Company to dinner at 
four. Agassiz, George Ticknor, Professor 
Felton, Rev. Dr. Huntington, Charles Hale 
(Speaker of House of Representatives), 
Lord Radstock, ex - Governor Washburn, 
and some gentlemen from the legislature 
whom I wished to become acquainted with 
Mr. Agassiz. They all seemed to have an 
agreeable visit, and I hope it will help along 
the project of establishing the Museum of 
Zoology at Cambridge. Lord Radstock is 
a young man, travelling with his wife." 

"February 15. Subscribed 81,000 to 
Agassiz's museum in Cambridge. The com- 
mittee now have $40,000 subscribed, and ex- 
pect more." 

" April 9. . . President Walker came to 
see about the Sanders donation. Before he 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 161 

left Mr. Agassiz came to get some money in 
advance ] and at the same time Governor 
Gardner came about something else." 

" May 5. Meeting at my Court Street 
office of the committee appointed to be the 
faculty of the Agassiz Museum : President 
Walker, Dr. Jacob Bigelovv, Dr. O. W. 
Holmes, and Mr. Agassiz. The latter is so 
progressive that it requires all the tact of 
Dr. Walker and Dr. Bigelow to keep him 
in check." 

An interesting photograph of five presi- 
dents of Harvard College, now hanging in 
the college library, was taken under the fol- 
lowing circumstances : — 

" April 27, 1861. The President and ex- 
Presidents of Harvard College met at Whip- 
ple's by my request, to be photographed to- 
gether for the college library. Messrs. 
Quincy, Everett, Sparks, Walker, and Fel- 
ton. We waited for Mr, Everett, who had 
forgotten his appointment, and had a great 
deal of talk. Mr. Quincy was very bright 
and earnest. He told me he had enjoyed 
his life since he was seventy-four more than 
any previous part of it. He is now about 
ninety." 

The pressure for charity continued at his 



162 AAfOS A. LAWRENCE. 

office, though, as he always remarked, it va- 
ried with the weather. His journal records : 
" December 11. Rainy. No beggars. Quiet 
day but busy in counting-room. 12. Fine 
day. Beggars plenty." For many years he 
made a standing offer to the agents of char- 
itable societies that he would give a five- 
dollar gold piece to any poor person whose 
poverty was not caused by either drink, lazi- 
ness, or bad temper. Experience and in- 
vestigation assured him that there was no 
great risk in the offer. A more genteel 
class of beggars and money borrowers sug- 
gested these remarks : — 

" August 1. Fine day. Annoyed by be- 
ing forced to decline several applications for 
money. My experience leads me to know 
that the greater part of those who apply for 
loans or for gifts of money either live more 
expensively than their means warrant or 
they are unwilling to fix themselves down 
to one pursuit. If we should undertake to 
criticise cases, there would be found very few 
where hardship does not follow bad manage- 
ment and where relief can be anything but 
temporary." 

It was a satisfaction to him to help raise 
a fund for Dr. Morton simply as his thank- 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 163 

offering for the " inestimable blessing of 
etlier." In such a special emergency as the 
fall of the Pemberton Mills he was quick to 
join with others in carrying the paper about. 

" 1860. January 10. Pemberton Mill at 
Lawrence fell down in one sudden ruin 
while in operation. The pay-roll shows 980 
persons employed. While the multitude 
confined in the ruins were being dug out, a 
fire started and finished the horrible catas- 
trophe. 

" 11. Meeting of fifteen gentlemen at the 
Hospital Life office. We subscribed $2,000 
on tlie spot for the sufferers. Meeting of 
the New England Societies in afternoon. 
Voted to omit the annual dinner to-day and 
added about $3,000 to the subscription. 

" 12. Plard at work collecting money. 
Went with Beebe into State Street. All of 
us obtained 15,000 to-day." 

In January, 1860, Mr. Lawrence took a 
short journey through the South with two 
nephews, and had the satisfaction of seeing 
Southern life near the end of the old regime. 

" February 2. Savannah. Drove out two 
miles to an auction sale of 180 negroes. 
They looked serious, and the girls shed some 
tears. They were sold in families, and after 



164 AMOS A. LA WHENCE. 

they were knocked off I thought they looked 
anxious, and I noticed that a mother who 
was sokl with her seven chiklren sobbed 
very much. It is always a sad sight." 

" 7. Negro dealing is carried on here by 
' gentlemen ' of family who have been un- 
fortunate in other business." 

The travellers could see in the social life 
at the South no signs of the approaching out- 
burst, for on arrival at home Mr. Lawrence 
wrote, " My neighbors think I must have 
incurred some risk in going to the South. 
How mistaken the opinion is of the two sec- 
tions of the country in regard to the feel- 
ings of each other. May God make them 
more friendly and more emulous and excel 
in promoting the great cause for which our 
government was made." 

The year 1860 closed under the shadow of 
the coming struggle. 

" December 21. Laid up. Have worked 
too hard, and been too anxious for the 
Union. South Carolina secedes." 

" December 24-30. This has been a week 
of anxious interest for the welfare of our 
country. Events follow in quick succession 
which will be felt in our future history for 
good or for evil, and I fear it will be the 



POLITICS AND PERSONAL. 165 

latter. The fear and hatred of the Republi- 
cans by the people of the South drives them 
forward to repudiate the government. In 
South Carolina the people have seized Fort 
Moultrie and Fort Pinckney and a United 
States cutter, besides the custom-house and 
other government property. They have now 
sent commissioners to Washington to treat 
for a partition of government property and 
to make a treaty with the United States. 
The President seems to be weak in sup- 
porting the government, and even leaning to 
the side of the traitors. Secretary Cass has 
resigned in disgust with the favor which is 
shown to nullification in the cabinet. 

" Sunday. May the Lord spare us a little 
longer, and humble this great nation without 
inflicting us with the shedding of fraternal 
blood. 

" 31. Monday. A sad day. The anni- 
versary of my dear father's death. A sad 
ending of one year in the history of my 
country ; I fear the last year of our happy 
union." 



X. 

THE WAR. 

1861-1862. 

Feom the special Fast Day of January 
4, 1861, until the middle of April, national 
events moved with great rapidity, but pop- 
ular sentiment moved faster. In spite of 
the increasing intensity of feeling between 
the North and the South, Congress was full 
of the talk of compromise and peace. 

It was not in the nature of Mr. Lawi'ence, 
who loved peace and had an over-charitable 
confidence in the Southern loyalty to the 
Union, to let pass any consistent work for an 
amicable settlement. As one of a committee 
composed of Edward Evei'etfc, Robert C. 
Winthrop, and other representatives of the 
conservative elements of Massachusetts, he 
wont to Washington with a petition of 
fifteen thousand citizens urging the passage 
by Congress of the Crittenden compromise. 
They were received by Mr. Buchanan, who, 



THE WAR. 167 

in dressing-gown and slippers, spoke with 
great anxiety in regard to a collision at the 
South, and expressed a strong desire (in 
which the whole North joined) to be free 
from the cares of office. They called upon 
Vice-President Breckinridge, General Scott, 
Mr. Seward, Mr. Sumner, and others, but 
the tide had set too strong for any such ac- 
tion. Mr. Sumner was too near the truth 
when he told the committee that their mis- 
sion " would be of no more use than a penny 
whistle in a tempest." Having done his part 
for peace, Mr. Lawrence immediately pre- 
pared to do his part for war. 

Two years before, in a speech on Wash- 
ington's birthday, lie had said, — 

" It was a theory of Washington, and it 
has become the theory and the practice of 
this government, that the military power of 
the country shall reside in the people them- 
selves; that, without a standing army, every 
citizen shall be accustomed to and shall be 
ready at all times to perform militia service. 

" In accordance with this theory of Wash- 
ington and our government, it becomes the 
duty of every citizen to have a knowledge of 
and to bear arms, and it is not hazarding too 
much to say that every citizen who has never 



168 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

borne arms, and who has never submitted to 
the military drill as commonly practised, has 
not performed his whole duty, because he is 
not ready at all times to perform any service 
to which he may be called by his State or 
Country." 

Though he had taken his jDart as a young 
man in the militia, he now felt that the test 
of the principle had come. On his return 
from Washington he threw himself with 
great enthusiasm into the organization of 
drill clubs. In February he wrote, " I go 
to drill every day at eleven with about fifty 
of various ages." In March he added, 
" Drill club in afternoon ; all in uniform 
jackets and red caps ; about ninety came out 
and marched quietly to Boylston Hall (over 
Boylston Market), where the exercise lasted 
two hours. I do the whole with the vounff- 
est, because it is never too late to practise 
what every citizen ought to be familiar with, 
and because a good example stimulates oth- 
ers." Though twenty years older than most 
of the men, his activity and endurance soon 
made him an excellent drill-master. His 
journal runs, April 17 : " Find that I am 
chosen quartermaster of our zouave regiment 
proposed to be formed of Colonel Salignac's 



THE WAR. 169 

drill club. Advertised to drill recruits to 
the number of 800." 

At liis invitation the zouaves would 
march out to Longwood and drill, while his 
family supplied barrels of lemonade. By 
comparison with later movements, those 
manoeuvres had a very fresh and amateur 
appearance, but it was the first step in 
arousing" the soldier spirit ; and among those 
red-capped recruits were many vvdio a few 
months later led battalions, regiments, and 
brigades into battle. 

On the IStli of April came the proclama- 
tion of the President calling for 75,000 vol- 
unteers from the States, and the same day 
came a telegram to Governor Andrew to 
send forward 1,500 men. Popular feeling 
had moved on so rapidly that it w^as more 
than ready to respond. On hearing of the 
call for troops, Mr. Lawrence, who only a 
few weeks before had been ui-ging Mr. 
Seward to act for peace, and who was still 
hopeful of some loyal sentiment in the 
South, now wrote him : — 

Boston, April 1, 1861. 
Dear Sir, — Permit a member of the 
Constitutional Union party to suggest that 



170 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

the call for 75,000 troops l)y the President 
will not have the desired effect on our 
friends in the South who are wavering 
about secession. If it were five times that 
number it would satisfy all that the govern- 
ment would be maintained, and I believe 
it would be responded to in the Northern 
States, and ultimately in tlie Border States. 
Respectfully yours, 

A. A. L. 

Two weeks after he wrote to his friend, 
Henry Lee, of Governor Andrew's staff : — 

Boston, April 17, 1861. 

Dear Henry, — I don't wish to court 
notoriety by oifering my service to Governor 
Andrew, but shall be glad to undertake any 
service of which I am capable. Therefore 
please to keep an eye out for me, where 
smart young chaps are wanted, and small 
pay. Yours truly, 

A. A. L. 

His journal suggests the memories of that 
eventful week : — 

" April 17. The Sixth Regiment muster 
in Boston, and march through the streets on 



77/ A IVAJC. Ill 

their way Uj WuHhiiv^/m, mid«t crovvdh of 

p'iOpI*;. 

" J 8. Troops p^o'in^ ofl' to WaBhington in 
hm'^ trains of cars amid gr<;at fintljuniaorn." 

"21. MoijfJiiy, (Ireat town uKjitht'^ in 
IJrookline. I njude tlj<i <-j)timiitU'Ji'H r«ijjort, 
piittinj^ t}i<; wlioj'i town on the war footin;.;, 
and appropriating^ % 15,000 to be used by a 
military committee whofn we named, 'i liis 
was a<Ioj>ted with j^reat excitement. 

" 22. 'I'hirty-five of my neighbors marched 
to Boston by way of drill. I led them part 
way, and then h;ft them U) Captain Wilder, 
as I was ejigaged at Cambridge, (h'^tat ad- 
ditions U) drill clulj, over 400. 

" 23. Norfolk Navy Yard destroyed by 
governm(;nt to prevent its being taken, with 
fiome of tlie finest ships of the navy. 

"24. JJrilling everywhere. To iirookline 
in evening. Drilled tJi<; town .ueoph; : llie 
Iialls filhi^l. 

" 2o. Massa/;husetts troops hred on in 
lialtimore. \\'ashington l^areiy saved from 
the revohitionists. Troops from the North 
sent through Annapolis. Arthur Lawrence 
in Noi-th (^Jarolina. Mr. AN'illiam Appleton 
in South (Carolina. 

" 2f>. Kaiiroa^l bridges all broken, north 
and west of Baltiir.'ore." 



172 AAfOS A. LAWRENCE. 

He added to his work as treasurer of the 
college one duty which gave him great de- 
light. At eight o'clock in the morning he 
was in Cambridge drilling the students. 
His interest in them did not cease in the 
college yard, but followed luany of them, 
his own young recruits, into camp, battle, and 
to death ; and his love for them and devotion 
to their memories ])rompted liim, at the close 
of the war, to throw something of his old 
enthusiasm into the erection of the Memo- 
rial Hall. Not content with drilling towns- 
men and students, he gave the first lessons 
in the manual to his sons, and then sent 
them to Brookline to join a boys' company. 
In fact, as he wrote to his uncle, "We all 
drill, even my girls belong to a squad and 
carry arms well." 

These were active days, as his journal 
testifies : — 

" June 10. My daily duties sometimes 
press luud. First I rise and dress, say my 
own prayers, and prayers with some of my 
childi^en. Before seven the triangle is 
struck for family prayers in the library. 
Breakfast at seven. Lay out work for men 
afterwards. Off on horseback at eight. 
Visit the contractors who are building for 



THE WAR. 173 

me about here and the laborers on the 
grounds. Then to Cambridge, oftenest to 
look after new work or old — just now the 
new house for president, and refitting the 
Brattle House ; or to meet the president 
or steward or some one of the professors 
on their business ; or to review the college 
' troops.' Then to Boston by half past nine. 
Here are all sorts of business, commercial, 
philanthropic, political ; besides building of 
three large stores, and a carriage factory, 
and drilling my company daily. This pushes 
me hard till after three, when I get on my 
horse again and reach home a little late for 
dinner. Then read the news, and rest until 
I turn out to inspect my garden and work- 
men, or to take my wife to drive in my coun- 
try wagon. All assemble at quarter before 
eight o'clock at tea. Children's bed -time 
and prayers with them at half past eight. 
Then a nap, and reading or writing till 
eleven or twelve. There is a great scarcity 
of employment, and I have taken about thir- 
ty-five men to dig over my marshes, then to 
haul gravel from them, then to cover with 
loam, and sow grass seed." 

" 14. Drill in Pemberton Square. Very 
hot." 



174 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

His first thought was for the Union men 
in the border States, Tennessee and Ken- 
tucky. Those whom he knew he urged to 
adhere to the Union. To Senator Critten- 
den of Kentucky he wrote : " You can have 
but a faint idea of the indignation which 
has seized the people since the defeat of An- 
derson. Ever}^ man wishes to be a vohm- 
teer ; business is suspended ; political asper- 
ities have ceased, and we all stand as one 
man for the government. Our friends in 
Kentucky may rely on it, the government 
will be sustained and its seat will not be 
moved from Washington in our day. Why, 
then, should not they stand by it ? " 

Andrew Johnson had written asking aid 
for the Union cause in Tennessee. ]Mr. 
Lawrence immediately sent il,000, and 
started off among his friends with a sub- 
scription paper. It was an easy time for 
subscriptions. " Money is poured out like 
water. Thirty-three thousand dollars have 
been sent to my office in three days for the 
Massachusetts Soldiers' Fund. We are 
getting 100,000 men ready to go South in 
the fall, and when all our men have gone, 
then old Massachusetts is going herself." 

The question as to whether a man in his 



THE WAR. 175 

position with large financial responsibilities 
as well as seven cliiltlven should enter active 
service was continually before him. In an- 
swer to a request of Mr. Paul Revere and. 
Dr. Coolidge, to take command of a regi- 
ment in which they were to be officers, he 
wrote : — 

Boston, July 3, 1861. 

Gentlemen, — At a period like this, the 
present duty of every loyal citizen will lead 
him to abandon his occupations and his at- 
tachments for the public service whenever 
those who have the appointing power de- 
mand it of him, but he is not to obtrude 
himself into any position for which he is 
unfitted, nor is he to urge his pretensions 
for any position whatever. 

With this view, I have carefully consid- 
ered the proposition which you have been 
kind enough to make to me, and have only 
to say, that I shall always be ready to make 
any sacrifice which the national or state 
authorities may require of me. Though I 
should have ffreat diffidence in undertaking^ 
military service, I stand ready to do anything 
which others may decide I can do well. 
Whatever it may be, I trust it will be un- 
dertaken simply as a duty, and without any 



176 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

desire for notoriety or from any unworthy 
ambition. Yours with regard, 

A. A. L. 

Again, in December, 1861, when Mr. 
Chase, the secretary of the treasury, was 
developing a plan for the movement to the 
Northern markets of those Southern staples 
that could be obtained, Mr. Lawrence wrote 
to him : " I have ventured to offer to devote 
myself to the government if I can render 
any service in perfecting the details of your 
plan. I will serve at any personal inconven- 
ience and risk on any part of the Atlantic 
coast during the present winter, and longer 
if necessary, without any remuneration, ex- 
cept the payment of my exj^enses incurred 
in the transaction of the business. Having 
been a large buyer of cotton in Southern 
markets for manufacturing purposes, and a 
consigner of manufactured goods to those 
markets, and having had charge for many 
years of large numbers of free laborers of 
both sexes, in factory and in the field, I feel 
competent to do anything which can be done 
by any agent who would probably be solic- 
ited by the government." 

Good service in the army he considered 



THE WAR. 177 

as an equivalent for the payment of small 
debts, as is seen by this letter to a lieuten- 
ant in the field : — 

Dear Sir, — We cancel Avith pleasure 
our demand against you ('1877.88) in consid- 
eration of your active services as a volunteer 
in supporting the government. 
Yours truly, 

Mason & Lawrence, 

By A. A. L. 

He offered a new house opposite his place 
in Longwood for invalid soldiers, and wrote : 
" I wish to offer my own services as steward, 
and those of my wife and family for any 
duties they can perform ; promising that, if 
accepted, the routine of service shall be as 
faithfully performed as by regularly ap- 
pointed agents ; " adding, " In these times we 
are all desirous to do something for those 
who are fighting the battles, and for one I 
am desirous to be useful here rather than 
to leave a very large and young family for 
distant service. But if I cannot do one I 
shall feel bound to offer the other ; though 
three years beyond the drafting age, I am 
strong and active, and can do anything re- 
quired of younger men." 



178 A3fOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Another letter runs, " The Sanitary Com- 
mission may have the use of the store at the 
corner of West and Mason Streets free of 
rent, until further notice." 

War meant death to the Whig and Union 
parties. When, then, the next canvass ap- 
proached, Mr. Lawrence heard, to his sur- 
prise, that his name was to be joined with 
that of Governor Andrew on the Republican 
ticket. This compliment he declined, but 
from that time until the presidential elec- 
tion of 1888 he voted and worked with the 
Republican party. 

At about this time the cruel treatment of 
our soldiers in Southern prisons had sug- 
gested the policy of retaliation in order to 
press the Southerners to humane methods. 
The kindly spirit of Mr. Lawrence suggested 
another policy. Having returned from a 
visit to the rebel prisoners at Fort Warren, 
he wrote to the commandant : — 

" It probably has occurred to you that the 
treatment of the rebel prisoners will have an 
effect upon our own prisoners at the South. 

" As the government rules are necessarily 
rigid, it is possible that the attentions of 
private citizens may be occupied in alleviat- 
ino- their condition in some measure. The 



THE WAR. 179 

loan of books, addition to their clothing, 
etc., may not come amiss to those who have 
been good citizens heretofore, and accus- 
tomed to the comforts of home. There is 
no doubt but that many of the soldiers were 
forced into the ranks in North Carolina, 
and I have supposed that some of the men 
who were more distinguished are held more 
as hostages than otherwise. It will afford 
me pleasure as a private citizen to assist in 
any plan which may require individual co- 
operation, though I do not suppose that it 
falls within your official duty to devise any 
such plan, unless to ascertain whether it is 
desired." 

A letter to Mr. Robert Mason gives in 
a few words the drift of Mr. Lawrence's 
thoughts and feelings in 1862. 

Boston, August 26, 1862. 

Deae Robert, — ... The war now has 

reached very broad dimensions. With an 
army of a million, which we shall have (un- 
der pay at least) in November, and the new 
gunboats, the government will carry sub- 
mission wherever it goes. Whether it will 
go into the interior of the South, except by 
gunboats, we cannot tell. It may be more 



180 AMOS A. LA WHENCE. 

expensive of life and money than profitable. 
The obstinacy of the rebels indicates that it 
will be necessary to ruin them completely 
and settle their lands with Yankees. The 
proclamation of emancipation of the slaves 
in the rebel States will be made whenever 
it will do more good than harm ; and that 
time seems to be approaching. The Presi- 
dent will not do it until the people of the 
loyal States are pretty much agreed upon 
it ; and public opinion is setting that way 
more and more. The Yankee settlers in the 
South will get good day's work out of the 
negroes even if they are free. 

The free States are very prosperous. 
Never have there been such crowds at the 
watering-places ; never such an abundance 
of money. It may be like the days before 
the flood, when they ate and drank until 
Noah went into the ark, and the flood came 
and drowned them all. But so it is. There 
comes a heavy sorrow to many families after 
a great battle, and all the time there are be- 
reavements which the public does not see. 
There were several funerals here at one time 
recently when the bodies of Captain Good- 
win (Ozlas's son). Captain Abbott (Judge 
Abbott's son). Captain Cary (T. G. Gary's 



THE WAR. 181 

son), Lieutenant Perkins (Stephen Perkins's 
son) were brought home. A son of Dr. 
Shurtleff was killed in the same engagement. 
One of Josiah Quincy's sons is missing ; the 
time now elapsed makes it doubtful whether 
he is a prisoner. George liussell's son is a 
prisoner in close confinement ; Quiney Shaw 
has been down there to learn about him, and 
his family have received two notes in pencil 
from him. These things make peoj^le feel 
rather sad ; but they are small comjiared 
with the great mass of sorrow which all the 
deaths of soldiers create. But all does not 
have the effect of preventing our fashion- 
able people from making fools of themselves, 
and of others. Down at Newport they say 
the balls are splendid. 

Factory business better than ever, but 
looking forward into empty space. . . . Busi- 
ness is easily done ; no dickering about 
prices ; almost all sales for cash. Stores all 
shut up at two o'clock, when the bells begin 
to ring and the drums to beat. I wonder 
that any of the young men stay out of camp. 
I find it hard myself, though three years be- 
yond the military age, and might be laughed 
at. Besides, it behooves every man to make 
sure that he is doing the best thing he can 



182 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

do, when lie leaves a large family to go sol- 
diering. If lie has a doubtful conscience he 
has made a blunder and will regret it all the 
time. All well in my family. They are at 
Swampscott for a few days longer. Ee- 
member me to all yours, and regards to Mrs. 
Mason. Yours very truly, 

A. A. L. 



XI. 

THE WAR. 

1862-1865. 

The summer campaign of 1862 had dem- 
onstrated to the government that the army 
was woefully weak in the cavahy service. 
Consequently in the autumn there was a 
strong movement by the government for ad- 
ditional mounted service. 

Mr. Lawrence had been drilling with the 
sabre for some weeks, and had ridden and 
lived among horses from boyhood. This 
movement therefore seemed to give him an 
opportunit}^ for more personal service than 
he had thus far given. He therefore wrote 
to Colonel Henry Lee of the governor's 
staff : — 

Boston, October 5, 1862. 

Dear Harry, — ... Everybody wants 
to have a hand in putting an end to the war. 
If anybody who is authorized would direct 
me to recruit a regiment of cavalry for 



184 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

three years' service, I should think my time 
of service had come and should do my best 
to accomplish it. 

Yours truly, A. A. L. 

The question whether he should himself 
enlist was settled by a letter from the Gov- 
ernor advising him against active service, 
and one from his friend, Major Gardiner, of 
the United States Army : — 

" I would most strongly advise you against 
joining a cavalry regiment. I have been a 
cavalry officer for more than twenty years 
and know what the service is. No man is 
fitted for such service after thirty years un- 
less he has been brought up to it, and even 
if he has been he ceases to be equal to it un- 
less he is of an extraordinary constitution." 

In answer to his letter to Colonel Lee, 
Mr. Lawrence received this letter from the 
Governor : — 

Commonwealth of Massacbtusetts, 
Executive Department, 
Boston, October 27, 1862. 
Sir, — You are hereby authorized to re- 
cruit a battalion of four companies of cav- 
alry (including the one coming from Cali- 
fornia) for three years or the war, and if 



THE WAR. 185 

you can arrange with his honor, the Mayor 
of Boston, to receive the city bounty upon 
the remaining" three hundred men, we shall 
be ready, upon your assurances that they 
will be fortlicoming, to accept them as part 
of the Boston quota. 

Your obedient servant, etc. 

John A. Andrew, 

Governor, etc. 

He had anticipated the formal authoriza- 
tion by writing to Captain Charles R. Low- 
ell, who was at the time an aid to General 
McClellan : — 

Boston, October 25, 1862. 

Dear Sir, — I am authorized to assure 
you that if you should think favoral)ly of 
the proposition to take command of a bat- 
talion of cavalry to be raised in this State 
for three years' service, his excellency the 
Governor will issue to you a commission of 
major. In this case your presence will be 
required here at once to assist in the organ- 
ization of the battalion. 

It is the intention to appoint captains who 
are now in active service ; gentlemen with 
whom you are probably acquainted. 

Your obedient servant, A. A. L. 



186 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

The battalion soon developed into the Sec- 
ond Regiment of Cavalry, with Charles R. 
Lowell, colonel ; Henry S. Russell, lieuten- 
ant-colonel ; Caspar Crowninshield, major ; 
and William H. Forbes, the son of Mr. 
John M. Forbes, who was associated with 
Mr. Lawrence in recruiting the regiment, 
as a captain. 

The fascination of cavalry service and 
the reputation of its young colonel appealed 
to young men of good physique and active 
spirit, and soon applications came pouring 
in for commissions for their sons from moth- 
ers and fathers of young Harvard students 
and graduates, from ministers and Boston's 
dancing master, Papanti. It was an easy 
task to fill the list of oflicvvs. But the re- 
cruiting for the ranks was a different mat- 
ter. The early days of the war had passed, 
when at town meetings and enthusiastic gath- 
erings, after a stirring speech and roll of 
drums, the men had walked up to the plat- 
form and enlisted, amid the cheers of their 
neighbors and the tears of their families. 

Massachusetts had sent over fifty thou- 
sand into the army and navy ; drafts had 
been ordered, and " bounties " and " substi- 
tutes " were familiar words. The methods 



THE WAR. 187 

of recruiting in 1862 and 1863 were very 
business-like and not inspiring. Each town 
had its quota of men to fill. The recruiting 
agent, like Mr. Lawrence, would write to a 
town that he would supply them with men 
for their quota at the rate of f^OO apiece. 
He would then send some officers of the 
regiment through the country or into Can- 
ada to raise men who for the bounty of from 
$100 to $175 would enlist — the remainder 
of the money going to the payment of ex- 
penses and the regimental fund. 

At the time of recruiting the Second Cav- 
alry, the farms, shops, and factories had been 
thoroughly ransacked, the army of bounty 
jumpers had developed, and even the jails 
had been called upon to open their gates to 
certain classes of prisoners, who on their 
promise to enlist were given their freedom. 
The result was that while there was a good 
body of patriotic young men in the ranks of 
the Second Cavalry, there was also a strong 
mixture of rough and mutinous elements, 
which, however, the firm and soldierly spirit 
of Lowell succeeded in disciplining. One 
day a squad .of recruits in barracks showed 
an unruly spirit and the colonel was called. 
He found a serious mutiny in progress, and 



188 A^fOS A. LA WRENCE. 

the men in the act of attacking their line 
officers with the sabre. Lowell drew his 
pistol and shot the ringleader dead, and 
tlien ordered the officers to march their men 
off for drill upon the common, thus remov- 
ing them from the scene and keeping them 
occupied until the excitement was over. 
From that time the men learned that they 
had a commander to deal with. A company 
from California, composed largely of New 
England born men, came to Boston and 
swelled the ranks of the regiment. It was 
in the commonplace work of advertising for 
and receiving men that Mr. Lawrence's duty 
lay. But his pleasure was in the association 
with the young officers ; and his counting- 
room often sounded with the click of the 
sabre as he taught some young lieutenant 
the first rudiments of the sabre manual. 

In January, 18G3, he was able to write to 
Governor Andrew : — 

" It is now more than two months since 
you sent for me and gave an authorization 
to recruit a battalion of cavalry ; and I am 
happy to inform your excellency that the 
duty has been performed. . . . 

" There remains in my hands a considera- 
ble sum of money received from citizens and 



THE WAR. 189 

towns for the purpose of filling their quotas 
with three years' men. Of this an accurate 
account will be kept and the quotas will soon 
be filled as agreed. If any balance remains 
it will be turned over to the regiment ; but 
if the sum should be insufficient, I shall 
cheerfully supply the deficiency." 

On eJanuary 1, 1862, the Proclamation of 
Emancipation went into effect, and at about 
the same time came the movement for negro 
troops. On the 9th of February Mr. Law- 
rence received this letter : — 

Council Chambeb, February 9, 1863. 
Sir, — I have invited the following gen- 
tlemen, with yourself, to act as a committee 
to advise and consult with myself and the 
officers of the regiment, in organizing and 
recruiting a colored regiment of volunteers, 
viz. : George L. Stearns, John M. Forbes, 
Dr. LeBaron Russell, Richard P. Hallowell, 
and Wm. I. Bowditch, with F. G. Shaw, 
Esq., of New York and Morris L. Hallowell 
of Philadelphia as corresponding members. 
I hope that you may be able to act upon this 
committee, and am 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

John A. Andrew. 



190 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

On the 28th of May the 54th Regiment, 
the first full colored regiment in the country, 
marched on to Boston Common. Colonel 
Robert G. Shaw, whom Mr. Lawrence de- 
scribes as " youthful, handsome, sensible, de- 
termined, a model for a hero," marched at 
their head. The journal runs : — 

" All Boston turned out to see the first 
regiment of negroes that had ever been raised 
in the Northern States. The officers are all 
educated gentlemen, and Shaw rode with 
Lieutenant-Colonel llallowell (whose arm 
was still in a sling) at the head of the col- 
umn. He was splendid. I stationed myself 
outside the window on a projection of one 
of the stone stores in Franklin Street, and 
as they came up with the bands playing and 
the people cheering from the street, and from 
the houses, with the flags flaunting, it was 
indeed a graml and novel sight. The troops 
marched beautifully. When Shaw and his 
staff came opposite I hailed him and bid him 
adieu. He raised his hat to me, and waved 
it toward me twice, at the same time speak- 
ing to Hallowell, who did the same. May 
God bless these dear youths. May God 
save our country from its foes. May God 
help this government to crush rebellion, and 



THE WAR. 191 

to crush Its cause with it — slavery. Would 
to God, would to God, I could fight these 
battles for these young men." 

In everytliing that related to himself and 
his home during these years, life ran 
smoothly, as the following letter testifies : — 

LoNGWOOD, July ?A, 18(13. 

Dear Wife, — This day brings me up to 
forty-nine years. What a level plain of pros- 
perity has my journey been across thus far ! 
Family, friends, fortune, all twining around, 
so that they alone seem to be a sufficient 
support. Yet it is plain that the time is not 
far off when they all will fail. May the 
grace of God strengthen me now, and then ; 
and save me from falling vv^hen the time of 
trial comes. Yours affectionately, 

A. A. Lawkexce. 

But the increase of blessings only added 
to the intensity of his sympathy for others 
less fortunate, especially when war had cut 
off the pride of a family. 

He wrote to his cousin, whose nephew had 
met a noble death : — 



192 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

(Near) Boston, March 11, 1864. 

My dear Cousin Sallie, — The account 
of young Dalilgren's death reads like an an- 
cient romance. How sad ! how brilliant ! 
how wonderful ! What devotion ! what in- 
trepidity ! what patriotism ! 

I recalled the appearance of the pale, 
maimed youth who sat on your piazza on the 
day of Abbott's funeral ; when I pressed his 
hand and he mine as though we were blood 
relations, though we had never seen each 
other before. How he could have gained 
strength to ride on one of those painful, 
exhausting raids surpasses comprehension. 
But there he was, fighting like a hero ; dy- 
ing like a martyr ; his body stripped and 
insulted and ignominiously buried. His 
memory will live when we are all dead and 
forgotten. May God's grace sustain his 
parents and his family under this great and 
sad, but hallowed affliction. 

My tears drop right down while reading 
the extracts from the Richmond papers, — 
tears of sorrow, of anger, of joy that my 
country has produced such a noble youth, 
and that she has more. 

I hope that you are well, and that life 
wears a brighter aspect for you. You ai'e 



THE WAR. 193 

still young", and you may have many years 
of useful happiness. 

We are all well at " Cottage Farm," in- 
cluding Henry A. Green's family. My 
Mary is looking forward to be married be- 
fore summer. My wife sends her love. 
Your affectionate cousin, 

A. A. L. 

A few extracts from his journal suggest 
the memory of those days. 

" 18G4. May 8. Sunday. All sorts of 
rumors, after service this afternoon. I sad- 
dled my horse and rode to Boston to learn 
the truth. Severe fighting, but no great 
victory. Eight thousand wounded and sent 
to the rear of Meade's army, and the first 
battle-ground in possession of our army. 
Spare us, O God, from defeat. Give us the 
victory. Give us peace." 

" 10. Severe fighting. Brigadier-General 
Wadsworth killed. Colonel Griswold of the 
Massachusetts 56th, the only child of a widow 
who lives near to us, is killed ; also Major 
Abbott, son of Judge Josiah G. Abbott of 
Boston ; this is the second son killed in bat- 
tle in this war ; he was in command of the 
Massachusetts 20th, and a very fine young- 
officer. 



194 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

" 11. The battle still raging in Virginia. 
Grant gains ground. Major-General Sedg- 
wick killed. IVIay God give us the victory, 
and confound the enemy. 

" May 12. Mary's wedding. . . . 

" I could not stay at home without hear- 
ing from the army. So I rode to Boston to 
learn the news, and afterwards rode to \Ya- 
ban Hill Farm. 

" The fighting continues. Very bloody, 
very desperate at times. General Steven- 
son of Boston killed ; a good officer. May 
the Lord of Hosts give our brave army the 
victory. He alone can do it." 

" June 21. Wounded men are seen every- 
where ; in the streets, on the railroad cars, 
at the railroad station. Some badly maimed. 
Certainly there were never so many maimed 
men of one nation before, and the graves ! 
And the sorrowing hearts ! O God, how 
long ? " 

" 24. Cotton has sold at 165 cents a 
pound for ' middling ' ; and gold at 225 
cents for a dollar. Heavy sheetings about 
60 cents a yard. Cocheco prints at Slh 
cents." 

" 26. Hot. To church twice. How hard 
to bear is this oppressive heat by the poor 



THE WAR. 195 

fellows in the hospitals, and in the field. 
The great reaper, Death, has an abundant 
harvest. O God, listen to the prayers of 
the suffering people, and pardon our sins, 
and bless us once more." 

"Ju]y 17. Philip Mason died at S. 
Hooper's house in Washington after great 
suffering. His thigh and part of one hand 
were shot away. Goodwin Stone of the 
Second Cavalry (Massachusetts) is mortally 
wounded. He was a young man of fine tal- 
ent ; one of the highest scholars at Cam- 
bridge of the class of '62. I obtained his 
commission for him, and gave him lessons in 
the broadsword exercise. His family live 
in Newburyport, and he was their pride ; 
respected everywhere. 

" We moved to Nahant, to our new house 
on the rocks, and are all well pleased with 
it. The addition which I have made to it 
has a good piazza all around on both stories ; 
and the sea view is excellent." 

" 23. Took tea at Mr. Longfellow's with 
Charles Sumner. The latter wishes to see 
a president with brains ; one who can make 
a plan and carry it out." 

" 25. The fighting in Georgia was severe. 
Not less than 6,000 rebels killed and 



196 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

wounded. Mr. Sumner thinks McPherson 
was fit to be placed at the head of the army. 

" 31. To-day I am fifty years old. 

" It is not often that I think of my dear 
mother, whose image I cannot recall. Yet 
now I do bring up circumstances transpir- 
ing- fifty years ago, when she first looked in 
tenderness on me. Can it be that she has 
been watching me since that time ? And will 
she welcome me when God calls me home ? " 

" Auo-ust 2. Salmon P. Chase (ex-Secre- 
tary of the Treasury), Agassiz, J. W. Paige, 
Horace Gray, S. Hooper, and myself made 
the company at dinner at Samuel T. Dana's, 
who lives on the north side of Nahant in 
Edward Motley's cottage. 

" I asked Mr. Agassiz why no report was 
made by the late C. C. Felton, himself, and 
Benjamin Peirce, who were chosen a com- 
mittee to investigate the subject of modern 
' spiritualism.' He said the facts were too 
bad to publish ; they implicated many most 
respectable persons ; and they would not be 
believed. The whole system only indicated 
how weak is human nature in resisting im- 
posture, and in curbing the natural lusts of 
the flesh." 

With the news of cavalry successes in 



THE WAR. 197 

the autumn of 1864 came also the tidings 
of heavy losses from among the best men in 
the service. Mr. Lawrence followed every 
movement of the Second Cavalry with in- 
tense interest. It was therefore with a sharp 
pang of sorrow that he recorded the death of 
the young colonel whom only a few months 
before he had named to Governor Andrew 
as a soldier fit to command. 

" October 24. Colonel Lowell's death con- 
firmed. He w^as a splendid officer ; a young 
man of fine talents and character, of great 
energy and of great accomplishments ; the 
first scholar in Cambridge, and everywhere 
the first in action." 

"28. Colonel Charles R. Lowell's fu- 
neral at the college chapel in Cambridge. It 
was very impressive. The Cadets performed 
escort duty. He was the only son of his 
parents, his younger brother having been 
killed in Virginia in the Peninsular Cam- 
paign." 

On the same day Mr. Lawrence wrote for 
the paper this notice of his death. 

A GLORIOUS DEATH. 
" The brigade of cavalry which was raised 
for General Buford is called the fiinest in the 



198 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

army. After his death the command was 
assigned to Colonel Lowell, as a compliment 
to his services, and he acquitted himself in 
it so as to command the admiration of the 
officers and men. General Sheridan was so 
struck with his efficiency that he urged the 
President to make him a brigadier-general, 
and the commission had been issued. He 
had always exposed himself whenever he 
could render any service, leading his men, 
and fighting often like a private soldier. 
But in this campaign of thirty days his ex- 
posure had been very great ; twelve horses 
had fallen under him, one of them struck 
in seven places, and his clothes had been 
riddled with balls ; yet he had not been 
touched. 

" His first wound was received about one 
o'clock on the day of the battle of Cedar 
Creek, from a spent ball which struck him 
in the breast. The concussion of the lunsrs 
was so great as to cause anxietj^ General 
Torbett urged that he should be carried from 
the field ; but this he resisted. Though his 
voice could only be raised to a whisper, ' he 
hoped to lead in the final charge ' : and so 
he did. He was carried to the rear, and a 
little parapet of earth thrown uj) to shield 



THE WAR. 199 

him ; and he lay there motionless for two 
hours, having exacted a promise that he 
should be told when the charge was ordered. 
This came at three o'clock. He was then 
raised up and placed upon his horse, and for 
a time seemed to receive new life. He rode 
to the fi'ont, amid the cheers of the men, 
and took the command, which had devolved 
upon Lieutenant-Colonel Caspar Crownin- 
shield. His clear voice was gone, but all 
saw by the waving of his sword and by his 
eye, what he meant. He whispered the or- 
ders to his officers and they were passed 
along the lines. 

" It was half an hour before the bugle 
sounded the grand charge. Then his 
strength rose with the occasion : he threw 
into it his whole life : it was to him ' the 
final charge,' and to many other brave men. 
A ball pierced him from shoulder to shoul- 
der, and, laid on a shelter tent, he was car- 
ried from the field. Though paralyzed, he 
remained conscious, and gave minute direc- 
tions about the business of his command. 
He dictated letters and sent loving messages 
to his young wife, his parents, and friends, 
and, having finished all, he lay quietly ex- 
pecting death. No doubt he was prepared 



200 AMOS A. LA WHENCE. 

for it, for tlie whole of his brief life had 
been spent in the performance of his duty. 
Few men have combined so many talents 
and accomplishments, so much learning and 
so much virtue, with so strong a love of 
country." 

During the canvas of 1864 Mr. August 
Belmont of New York wrote to the " New 
York Times," offering to bet in the form of 
two propositions of $10,000 each. The first 
proposition was " that if Mr. Lincoln should 
be elected, we will be in a state of war dur- 
ing the term of his administration or will 
be forced to a disgraceful peace, with sepa- 
ration." This drew from Mr. Lawrence, 
whose admiration for the policy and charac- 
ter of Mr. Lincoln led him for the first time 
to vote for a Republican president, the fol- 
lowing: letter to the editor of the " Times." 

(Near) Boston, November 4, 1864. 
Dear Sie, — The proposition of Mr. 
Belmont in your paper of yesterday seems 
to be calculated to influence doubting or 
timid persons to vote with him. If you 
think so, and if none of your people will 
take him up on his first proposition, then I 



THE WAR. 201 

will do it, provided the money shall be given 
to some charitable object in New York or 
Boston, at the option of the winner. 

I have always voted against the Republi- 
can candidates, and never have bet, and have 
no money to spare at this time. I pray 
for peace as devoutly as Mr. Belmont, and 
for union, and believe that we shall have 
both, but not in the way he proposes. 
Your obedient servant, 

Amos A. La^vrence. 

Nothing was heard from Mr. Belmont. 

The year 1864 closed with the news that 
the Confederacy had been cut in halves by 
Sherman's march. 

" December 15. General Sherman's guns 
heard on the seaboard at Beaufort. Frank 
Lawrence at Port Royal writes, ' We hear 
the guns and hope to see Arthur soon." 
(Arthur is with Sherman.) This will be 
the greatest march of the war, if he gets 
through safely from the Mississippi to the 
sea." 

" 31. 11 p. M. My God, my Father. I 
would utter grateful thanks for the constant 
and unnumbered blessings on myself and 
on my family during the year just passing 



202 AMOS A. LAWRENCE 

away. Lift up our hearts from the de- 
voted love of this woi-ld to the love of thyself. 
Turn our eyes away from the contemplation 
of vain things upon our Saviour who suffered 
for us. Make us like Him. Accept our poor 
efforts ; pardon our infirmities and sins ; and 
prepare us for the great change that awaits 
us all, and finally receive us into thy heav- 
enly kingdom. I ask this in the name of 
our dear Saviour, Jesus Christ ; and for Plis 
sake, grant my prayer, O my God." 

The year 1865 ojoened upon the final 
events of the Rebellion, when the rapid suc- 
cession of victorious news was eclipsed by 
the tragic week in April. 

"Ajwil 2. Major Charles H. Mills of 
Boston killed. He had been at home for a 
long time badly wounded, and we had seen 
him ahout the streets and in company repeat- 
edly ; in fact he had only just left us for 
' the front ' when he was cut down in the 
flower of his youth. O God, give us peace ; 
peace with good goveiniment ; peace with lib- 
erty. This is Sunday. How sad to many 
hearts all over the land. 

" 3. liichmond surrendered. Thanks be 
to Almighty God. 

" 4. Great rejoicing, and no business 
done." 



THE WAR. 203 

"6. I am building a new libraiy on the 
south side of my house, and in the stone at 
the base of the chimney outside, I have had 
an inscription cut, ' Rich. Vict. Apr. hi. 

A. D. MDCCCLXV.' " 

" 9. General Lee's army surrendered to 
General Grant. Thanks be to Almighty 
God for this. Now He smiles once more 
upon us. I have ordered another inscrip- 
tion cut in the stone of my ' Memorial 
room ' as I propose to call it. ' Exercit. 

CONFED. DeDITUS. ApR. IX. MDCCCLXV.' 

" 10. Rejoicing, flags, cannon firing, fire 
works, illuminations and thanksgiving, and 
little else." 

" 15. Pi-esident Lincoln assassinated. 
While we were at breakfast the waiting- 
maid came in and said that President Lin- 
coln and Mr. Seward were assassinated. 
At that moment the Brookline bell struck 
and the town flag was hoisted to half-mast. 
This told the story. The news had just 
come, in fact the President had but just then 
died. This shows the wickedness of the Re- 
bellion and the desperation of the rebels. I 
ordered a new inscription to be cut : ' Pop. 
Gaudio Succedit Summus Dolor. Apr. 
XIV. MDCCCLXV.' All the bells over the 



204 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

whole country are tolling ; all the flags at 
half-mast. Mourning everywhere. 

" 16. Mourning everywhere for Mr. Lin- 
coln. (Mr. Seward and his son not dead, 
but very ill from wounds.) The houses all 
draped more or less with black and white, 
and all the stores. 

" 17. Put one more inscription in the 
stone. ' SicuT Patkibus Sit Deus No- 
bis.' " 

" June 1. Grand procession of mourning 
for Mr. Lincoln. This day is appointed by 
the President as a day of mourning. In 
the morning at 9 A. M. we went to church. 
The display of military was large, com- 
manded by General Bartlett, ' the bravest 
of the brave,' who rides as well as though 
he had as many legs and arms as he had 
before the war. Many officers and men 
scarred and browned with their camj^aigns 
wei'e in the procession ; but as interesting as 
any were the great vans filled with soldiers 
who had lost their lower limbs and who 
could not walk. These were cheered more 
than any." 

To Mr. Mason he wrote : — 

Boston, June 28, 1865. 

Dear Robert, — The regiments are 



THE WAR. 205 

coming home fast. Every day we see the 
swarthy veterans marching through the 
streets. The raih-oad stations, the cars, 
everything is alive with them. Just now 
the 4th Massachusetts Artillery is passing up 
the street. The colonel (King) has been 
knocked pretty much to pieces ; but he sits 
erect on his horse and looks as handsome as 
ever, though his hair has turned to gray. 
Several officers have only one arm or have 
lost a leg. The drum major is a perfect 
giant. The men are very thin and the color 
of Spaniards ; they look straight forward, 
and do not mind the cheering. At every 
step some relative or friend recognizes a sol- 
dier and calls him by name, which causes 
him to look in that direction. Then as the 
rusty flag passes, everybody gives it a cheer. 
This is going on all over the country. The 
officers put on their civilian dress the next 
day after they are mustered out, and the 
men take off their buttons and faded trim- 
mings at once, so that in a few weeks we 
shall see no soldiers. 

The year 1865 closed with the final war 
scene. 

"December 22. Forefathers' Day. A 



206 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

procession of all the regiments which have 
been to the war, with all their flags. These 
last they carried to the state house and de- 
livered to the Governor. It was a touchino^ 
sight. Most of the regiments were repre- 
sented by a score or two of men, with their 
colonel in most cases at their head. Some 
had as many as one hundred. Some had one 
old, tattered, faded flag. Some had several. 
The men had but little uniform. Being dis- 
banded, they had gone to their old pursuits, 
and had no uniform, except a few. Some 
were wounded, one poor fellow had lost both 
arms. There were over sixty regiments in 
all, and when all the flags had been taken by 
the Governor they were displayed in front 
of the state house. That was a glorious 
sight as it was seen from the Common. 
Many a poor wounded and dying soldier had 
looked on one or another of these flags, now 
displayed to an admiring throng of his fel- 
low countrymen who enjoy what he gave his 
life to obtain, a good, stable government." 



XII. 

PEKSONAL TRAITS. 

It was a favorite idea with Mr. Lawrence 
that after a man had passed the age of forty 
his gain in wisdom and experience did not 
counterbalance the loss in activity of mind 
and body and the gradual failure of the ex- 
ecutive faculty. On this principle he was 
always an advocate of putting young men of 
promise into responsible executive positions ; 
and he had that appreciation of the worth 
and intelligence of young men that under 
his guidance their best qualities were devel- 
oped and their activities brought to the 
highest pressure. But the application of 
the principle to himself had this drawback, 
that when, at the close of the war, he had 
reached the age of fifty, he began to feel 
that his best years had passed and some- 
times to affect an old age which really had 
no place in his strong physique. Having 
moved much with older men in his early 



208 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

business day, he looked upon them as his 
contemporaries, and whenever an acquaint- 
ance died who was not more than twenty or 
thirty years older than himself, he felt that 
one of his own age had departed and that 
his own time must soon come. With a man 
of his intense activity and nervous tempera- 
ment, reactions were sure to occur, and at 
this time we begin to read the first note of 
what later became sometimes a rather mel- 
ancholy strain. Anniversaries suggested sad 
rather than hopeful thoughts. 

"July 31. My birthday. My life seems 
to be passing away without any great result. 
My chief care and ambition for this world 
now centres in the welfare of my children. 
Age makes me less sanguine about changing 
the destinies of men, and I cease to take an 
active part in popular movements. God give 
grace to save me from a sordid selfish ease." 

" August 7. Since the war and since so 
many of my friends have gone abroad, I look 
too much on the dark side. Ambition 
seems to have died out and great hopes 
have ceased to be excited." 

The following letter to his Uncle Giles 
Richards suggests the double life which in- 
tensified as he grew older, — that of an intro- 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 209 

spective melancholy bound to an earnest 
faith, which was so common among our New 
England ancestors, combined with a viva- 
city and cheerfulness in society of which our 
fathers were seldom guilty. 

December 7, 18G5. Thanksgiving Evening. 

My dear Uncle, — On these anniver- 
sary days the memory runs back to the days 
long passed away, and it requires a great 
effort for any except the very young to 
avoid an overpowering feeling of sadness. 
I think of you in what was not many years 
ago your " new home," surrounded with all 
that makes life sweet. The glad voices of 
your children, the tender smile of their 
mother, all united to warm your heart and to 
make you thank God for so much happiness. 

Now in your " old home " you sit by your 
hearth, an old man, the lamp growing dim, 
the bright lights of former days gone out. 
The forms so dear are not seen ; their cheer- 
ful voices are not heard. Yet in your own 
imagination you do see them, and you do hear 
their voices. But their forms are more 
heavenly, and their voices are calling on you 
to prepare to rejoin them. No doubt you 
will gladly obey the summons when in God's 



210 AMUS A. LA WHENCE. 

good time it shall come. Meantime you will 
live for those who remain to you, cheerful 
and cheering, in the service of the Lord, 
and in communion with his saints. 

All this reminds me of my own life, so 
filled with blessing, yet fast gliding away. 
All my dear ones remain with me. My good 
wife, seven children, and one grandchild, 
all are here under this roof. I see their 
forms, to me the most beautiful on earth, 
and I hear their voices on this Thanksoivino; 
evening. Indeed, I have cause for thank- 
fulness, though the black clouds of sorrow 
should gather from this very hour ; still I 
could be thankful, for my cup of blessing 
has long been full and running over. Who 
that has lived fifty years can enjoy these 
family days without some sadness, if those 
cannot who have been prospered all the 
time. 

Sunday 10th. My note was stopped by 
the influx of some twenty young people, 
chiefly nephews and nieces, who assembled 
here to have " high jinks " on Thanksgiving- 
evening. There were two families of Uncle 
William L.'s grandchildren (Sprague and 
Whitney), two families of Uncle Abbott's 
grandchildren (Abbott L.'s and Rotch), and 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 211 

an equal number of Appleton gTanclchildren. 
Tliey soon had possession of my sanctum 
where this is written, and turned me out to 
help play the " elephant," to " wind the 
bottle," to see " the dwarf " and the " gi- 
ant." The sport ran high from six o'clock 
till nine, and then they disappeared into the 
snow-storm to their homes. They like to 
come to Uncle Amos's ; they think, no doubt, 
that I have been here always, and that I am 
as lasting as the hills. If the new heaven 
and the new earth are to be our everlasting 
home, then in our human weakness some 
might pray that this present home may be 
ours hereafter. Certainly I should be one 
to ask to live right here. 

Your affectionate nephew, 

A. A. L. 

None of this inner melancholy tone was 
noticeable to his friends, however, except that 
he occasionally " talked old," and heard with 
satisfaction mingled with chagrin that some 
one had taken him for an old man. In fact 
his bald head, encircled by the finest silken 
hair, which was too silvery to turn gray, 
gave him that appearance. But his strong, 
stocky, active body, smooth complexion, soft 



212 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

skin, and clear blue eye were certain marks 
that great vigor still remained. And his 
habits were those of a vigorous man. A few 
minutes' exercise before the open window 
with his twenty-five-pouud dumb-bells pre- 
ceded breakfast, at which he was sure to find 
his whole family, his wife and seven children, 
promptly at seven o'clock. In those years 
Longwood had only candles to dispel the 
wintry gloom from the breakfast-room. At 
quarter before eight family prayers were 
over and his horse, which was often an ugly- 
tempered, ill-trained, or high-strung beast, 
was at the door. He was then off for the 
country — sometimes to rap with his whip 
on the window of his pastor. Dr. Stone, or 
his loved friend and relative, James S. 
Amory, or to rouse from the breakfast-table 
some other neighbor. 

While treasurer of the college he usually 
took Cambridge into his circuit. After 
1862 his farm at Waban Hill in Newton 
always received one visit in the day. But, 
a few minutes after nine he had thrown the 
rein on his horse's neck in the stable in 
Mason Street at the rear of his father's 
house, and was on his way to the count- 
ing-room at 17 Milk Street. (In 1869 he 




^ O V^Z-^i/v^-S Oi;' vv*v~»Jt- C-O-tXC 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 213 

removed his office to 13 Chauncy Street.) 
Six hours of active business, including the 
reception of beggars, borrowers, and ac- 
quaintances with schemes to unfold, gave 
him the impulse for a sharp ride home over 
the Mill-dam. Dinner and a five minutes' 
nap refreshed him for a drive, a skate on 
Jamaica Pond, or another ride on a fresh 
horse, from which he returned after dark 
ready for his tea, newspaper, and pipe or 
cigar. This life on the road made him a 
familiar figure, and that person was a 
stranger in Brookline who did not recognize 
and give a passing nod to Mr. Lawrence. 
For his taste was so social that he was ready 
to stop and have a chat with any one. 
Every workman on the road looked up 
with the feeling that he would be recog- 
nized and accosted, and it was seldom that 
Mr. Lawrence did not carry away from his 
conversation a piece of useful information, 
while the Irishman retained a kindly feeling 
and often a gold dollar for the children ; 
for Mr. Lawrence always carried gold to 
give away even in the days of its highest 
premium. Duffy, the blacksmith, was the 
means of quietly passing from five to fifty 
dollars into the hands of his neighbors. 



214 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

And for the mechanics and tradesmen in 
the town he had as respectful and neigh- 
borly interest as he did for his friends Dr. 
Francis, Dr. Wharton, or Mr. Winthrop. 

It was this perfectly natural sympathy 
with men of all sorts, combined with his 
other conditions, that gave him a unique 
position in the community. At the town 
meetings, though he was not a ready 
speaker, he had that business-like but kindly 
manner, mixed with a little dry wit, which 
disarmed criticism, created confidence, and 
sent a glow of kindly feeling among those 
who were wrangling about some great ques- 
tions as the widening of a street or the 
draining of a marsh, such as rouse the pas- 
sions of fellow townsmen. He never had 
the time to accept many long term offices in 
the town, but if there were any special ques- 
tion or new undertaking he was ready to 
take his share of the work. There was one 
kind of town improvement in which he al- 
ways had an interest, — the laying out of 
play-grounds for the boys. His faith in the 
worth of physical exercise led him to join 
with others in creating a skating pond on 
the Aspinwall meadows, and building a float- 
ing bath-house on Charles River. And no 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 215 

part of his work iu connection with the col- 
lege interested hiin more than the building 
of the gymnasium r.nd the purchase of Jar- 
vis Field to take the place of the Delta, on 
which Memorial Hall was to be built. 

Associated with his out-of-door life was 
his interest in adding to the beauty of the 
towns, not only by parks but in the simpler 
way of creating in the people a pride in the 
neatness and beauty of their surroundings. 

The meeting-house, the roads, and the 
cemetery at Groton were special objects of 
his care. 

The following instances of the correction 
of public annoyances are mentioned not for 
their importance but simply as characteristic 
of the man. While the newspapers were 
scolding about the disfigurement of the 
towns and country by advertisements and 
posters, Mr. Lawrence was having copies of 
the stringent statutes on the subject mailed 
to the chief of police or selectmen in every 
town and village in the State, with an urgent 
request that the law be enforced. And it 
was a satisfaction to him to know that, 
largely through his influence, the two towns 
in which he lived permitted no advertise- 
ments or posters within their limits. It 



216 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

pleased him very much to try without success 
to induce a man with posters on the Cam- 
bridge side of Charles River to bring his ad- 
vertisements across the line to Brookline. 

The shriek of the Worcester Railroad 
whistle, as the trains shot across the crowded 
streets towards Boston, induced his brother 
and himself to offer through the " Daily Ad- 
vertiser " the sum of " 110,000 to be given 
to the inventor of a system of signals in 
lieu of whistles." Whatever effect the of- 
fer may have had, their urgency of the mat- 
ter upon the railroad officials resulted in 
causing the engineers to cease whistling 
several miles outside of Boston. 

From the first day that he moved to 
Longwood, in 1851, he joined with his 
brother in laying out their tract of land, 
planting trees, opening up roads, and build- 
ing houses ; so that within a few years the 
Cottage Farm was covered with a cluster of 
stone and brick cottages which, hidden be- 
hind trees and hedges, gave it the appear- 
ance of a private park. And as the first 
object was the creation of a pleasant neigh- 
borhood, the houses were always filled with 
families who joined with each other in mak- 
ing a delightful and refined community. 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 217 

In 1862 Mr. Lawrence anticipated the ap- 
proach of Boston, which is now converting 
Cottage Farm into city streets, and bought 
a farm of over 100 acres about three miles 
farther out of town, on a part of the tract 
formerly occupied by the chief Waban and 
his tribe. It was an unrealized dream that 
he might retire to Waban Farm as Boston 
approached Longwood. But the city soon 
took a large slice of his tract for the bed of 
the " Lawrence Basin" of the Chestnut Hill 
Reservoir, and thus deprived it of its bucolic 
aspect. However, for twenty years this 
place was his autumn home, and to it he 
rode almost every day in the year, superin- 
tending the plowing, sowing, and reaping, 
planting nurseries of fruit-trees, pruning and 
grafting, overseeing the dairy, and giving 
play to his taste for farming and country 
life which his ancestry from Wisset, Eng- 
land to Groton had cultivated from neces- 
sity. 

In 1864 Mr. Lawrence moved for the 
first time to his summer home at Nahant. 
With each of the succeeding twenty-two 
years he became more and more attached 
to the spot which nature and neighbors 
made so congenial. The cottage, which 



218 AMOS A. LAWItENCE. 

stands on one of the southwest points, 
caught the breezes fresh from the water ; 
the clear sweep of view across Lynn Bay 
to the Saugus Hills gave every sunset with 
its reflected colors a double glory ; and at 
night when Mr. Lawrence lay awake for 
hours reflecting and praying, as he often 
did, his thoughts wei'e accompanied by the 
soft splashing of the waves beneath his win- 
dow. His love for Boston people intensi- 
fied as he grew older ; and the descrii^tion 
of Nahant society by his near neighbor Mr. 
Thomas G. Appleton, " cold roast Boston," 
was to Mr. Lawrence its chief recommenda- 
tion. With Mr. Longfellow next door and 
with many representatives of Old Boston 
all about him, he could cultivate to his 
heart's content that social nature which 
would not let a day pass without informal 
calls on his friends. 

Here also it was his pleasure to pass sev- 
eral hours in the saddle, exploring the fields 
and rocky points, discovering new views, 
chatting with the neighbors in the Irish set- 
tlement as well as on the hill, and then tak- 
ing a sharp canter on the hard sand of Long 
Beach. At Nahant the whole family cen- 
tred, so that a dinner-table of twelve or lif- 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 219 

teen cliildren and grandchildren was a fa- 
miliar scene. These family gatherings were 
the happiest occasions in his life, so happy 
as to keep his somewhat morbid tempera- 
ment in anxiety lest the first gap should 
soon occur. 

Sunday was never complete at Nahant, 
or at Longwood, without the singing of 
" psalm tunes " in the evening. Children 
and guests were all expected to join, and 
Mr. Lawrence's voice could always be heard 
leading off in " Dundee," " Federal Street," 
" Coronation," and other familiar tunes. 

This letter to his son suggests his old as- 
sociations with psalm singing. 

Sunday Evening, April 6, 1873. LoNGWOOD. 

My dear Son, — We have had half an 
hour of what I call good music. Some peo- 
ple might dispute this, but they could not 
doubt about the sentiment. There is no 
music better than psalm tunes, and no senti- 
ments hioher than those contained in the 
poetry at the end of the Prayer Book, in my 
opinion. How we used to troll them off at 
Groton fifty odd years ago. Sunday even- 
ing my grandfather would send out for " Oli- 
ver " (Wentworth), who lived in the cottage 



220 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

beyond the barn, and who was an humble 
friend of my g.raudfather (who took him out 
of the poor-house when lie was a child) and 
of his descendants for eighty years. Then 
he would set the tune and Oliver would sing 
the tenor and my grandmother and Aunt 
Mary Woodbury and Aunt Eliza and we 
boys and anybody else who happened to be 
there would join in. I have never heard any 
music since that struck my ear like that. I 
can hear Oliver clearing his throat now for 
another effort. No doubt the old chap has 
now a seat somewhere in the heavenly choir. 
When we abandon the psalms and the Sun- 
days of our forefathers then we shall be 
carried away captive into Egypt, and we 
shall never be released except by a miracle. 
Sometimes it looks as though that is just 
where we are going, especially hereabouts. 
We 've set up a great light and w^e think we 
can see into all past and future things. But 
our lantern will be upset some day, and we 
shall be left in Egyptian darkness, unless we 
take a back track in time. 

Your affectionate father, 

A. A. L. 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 221 

His wife, who was endowed with peculiar 
beauty and dignity, was the complement of 
himself, strong where he was weak. If his 
sentimental or enthusiastic nature was in 
danger of leading him into unwise action, 
her sturdy common sense held him in check ; 
if a nervous reaction caused depression of 
spirits, her even, well-balanced temperament 
would in time bring him to a healthy view of 
life. As the greater part of the cares of the 
large household fell to her, it was fortunate 
that she had the strength and executive abil- 
ity to carry them. " If," as he wrote to her 
father, " Sarah had taken charge of the com- 
missariat of the British army when Mis^ 
Nightingale did of the hospitals, the war in 
the Crimea would have been better con- 
ducted than it was." 

Mr. Lawrence, however, was not one who 
could throw all the responsibilit}' of his 
children's care and development of charac- 
ter upon the mother. Every morning they 
wei-e called into his dressing-room for pri- 
vate prayer, and in the drives and Sunday 
walks he had the faculty of interspersing 
the light conversation with such remarks on 
people, society, and character as would lead 
them to a higher sense of duty and the 



222 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

worth of life. Twice every Sunday he ac- 
companied them to church, and, that his ex- 
ample might have its influence upon them 
as well as others, he worked in the Sunday- 
school as teacher, superintendent, or libra- 
rian. And if prevented from going to 
church a second time, he sometimes culled 
them to his room and there joined with them 
in prayer. There was no religious compul- 
sion in the house ; the force of examjjle and 
teaching, joined with a confidence in the chil- 
dren, was alone regarded. 

In the education of his sons, he sent them 
for a time to the public school that they 
might learn to meet and respect boys of all 
classes, and he made them learn to use car- 
penter's tools, and to care for a horse or a 
garden, that they might ajipreciate good 
work in others. He, fortunately for them, 
had as little regard for high scholastic rank 
as when he was in college. Next to the de- 
velopment of a good character in young 
men, he esteemed the habit of a right use of 
money. He insisted on exact accounts in 
earliest boyhood, created a realization of the 
value of money by paying interest on all 
cash deposited with him, and, when he had 
tested the ability to save as well as spend. 



PERSONAL TEA ITS. 223 

he gave such generous allowances that he 
could reasonably and successfully ask that 
savings and gifts to charities should begin 
in early days. When each of his children 
became twenty-one, he gave them unreserv- 
edly a patrimony which would support them 
in comfort without any further obligation to 
himself. He thus made them independent 
of their parents in fortune, and they were 
held to the home only by bonds of affection 
and gratitude. 

In fact, so little did the love of accumu- 
lation bind Mr. Lawrence that he system- 
atically reduced his property the last thirty 
years of his life by gifts to his children and 
charitable or public enterprises. 

With the property delivered to each of his 
children he always sent some such letter as 
the following to a daughter : " But after all, 
it is only yours in trust. It will not be long 
(though it may seem otherwise to you now) 
before you will be called to give an account 
of the whole of it. May God help you to use 
it and all your advantages so as to render 
an account that will be acceptable to Him. 
You have been a dutiful and loving daugh- 
ter, for which I thank God every day of my 
life." 



224 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Or this to his elder son : — 

" This propei'ty with your profession will 
give you a good living, and will enable you 
to lay up something before you have a 
family of your own, and against ' a rainy 
day.' But it is not possible for me to en- 
rich my children nor even to give them such 
a kind of support as some people think is 
necessary in these extravagant times, nor am 
I sorry for it. On the contrary, I am glad 
that my children should have the stimulus 
to exertion which I myself had. Labor has 
been to me one of the greatest enjoyments of 
my life, and one of my greatest blessings, 
and I hope it may be theirs. 

" You cannot expect to be so long and so 
abundantly blessed as I have been ; but you 
will be spared from some hardslii})s which 
fall on those who begin life poor. Property 
is a trust ; and it affords more or less pleas- 
ure in proportion to the fidelity with which 
we administer it." 

In the education of his daughters there 
v/as one burden that hung heavily on him 
through life — the aimless existence which 
social conventionality gives to the young 
woman after her school days. In this, as* in 
the strict observance of Sunday and a love 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 225 

of simplicity in dress, he exhibited something 
of his Puritan ancestry. 

He had no patience with those fashionable 
people who, as he used to say, debauched 
the young with late hours and excitement. 
Writing to his daughter he said : " If any 
of the family went to the party, I hope 
they set an example of plain di-essing and 
early hours. If anything can be out of place 
at Nahant, it will be trailing dresses in the 
scanty space of the cottages and party hours 
of the city. We dry goods importers and 
stocking weavers make ourselves and our 
families ridiculous when we ape the fash- 
ions of foreign courts. Don't you agree to 
that ? If you don't you will when you have 
seen what the world is made of." 

A useful or refining occupation was, in his 
opinion, one of the necessaries of life. With 
that feeling he wrote to a niece who was 
travelling in Europe and who afterwards de- 
veloped a remarkable taste in embroidery. 

My dear , — The handsomest present 

that I have received for a long time was sent 
to me the other day by a delightful lady now 
eighty years old, Mrs. Guild, of Brookline, 
a sister of Mrs. Ticknor. It is the picture 



226 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

of a young robin, rather larger than life, 
beautifully drawn and painted. It is the 
best robin I ever saw. Mr. Audubon could 
not have done it better. What a great 
pleasure it must be for this ancient lady to 
be exercising herself in this elegant manner. 
How much more elevating and refining, 
than in darning an old pair of stockings, or 
in taking snuff and tea, and talking about 
one's neighbors. If you have not yet dis- 
covered any particular taste which you can 
indulge and cultivate, perhaps by looking a 
little more carefully you will meet with suc- 
cess. And then you will have great pleas- 
ure in doing what you find yourself doing so 
well. You will be pleased to excel others ; 
you will enjoy the admiration of friends and 
of others. But above all you will be pleased 
to find yourself doing good, and improving 
that talent which the good Lord has given 
you. Good-by my darling. 

Your affectionate uncle Lawrence. 

That the evil of aimless lives was not to be 
met by the collegiate education of women, 
would seem to be his opinion ( which was 
somewhat modified in later years), from a let- 
ter in connection with co-education in Kansas 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 227 

University. " I think there never has been 
and never will be a high standard of learn- 
ino^ in an institution where the sexes are 
instructed together. Such institutions may 
be tolerable academies, but never will be 
first-class colleges. I have no faith in the 
utility of giving diplomas to women, except 
for good housewifery, for courage, and for 
rearino- pood families of children." 

He was not only courteous to his servants, 
but he had a personal interest in each, and in 
his conversation with them would vary his an- 
ecdotes with friendly advice in such a way as 
to gain their confidence and affection. They 
always were welcomed to family prayers, and 
he would not begin to read the Bible until 
he was assured that some were present. He 
followed, with interest, the lives of those who 
had once served in the house, and for the 
thirty last years of his life, regularly visited 
the nurse of his children. 

His sense of kinship was very strong. He 
corresponded with relatives whom he had not 
seen for a generation. To one of them he 
writes : " As time wears on and we form new 
attachments, we think of old friends less of- 
ten, but the memory of and love for blood 
relations can never be obliterated. It comes 



228 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

over one in solitude and sickness with a force 
that is not known in the bustle of business 
and the rounds of daily life." A family- 
quarrel was, in his opinion, the most needless 
and wicked form of selfishness. 

There was one bond of kinship which was 
of peculiar strength and tenderness. 

With the death of their father, in 1852, 
his brother William and he were left the 
only representatives of that branch of the 
family. The affection which, up to this time, 
had bound them together developed into a 
closeness of thought, sympathy, and senti- 
ment which steadily strengthened for over 
thirty years. His brother, who had been a 
traveller of wide experience and some adven- 
ture, and who was endowed -with a fund of 
anecdote and wit, had somewhat remarkable 
social traits. He became a physician and 
immediately devoted his skill to the poor, 
and in their interest was very active in the 
organization of the Boston Dispensary. Be- 
sides publishing his father's " Diary and 
Correspondence," he wrote a book on the 
" Charities of France," in the hope of giving 
American charities the benefit of the French- 
men's experience. Ill health called him to 
Europe continually after his marriage ; but 



PERSONAL TRAITS. 229 

while at home he gave strength and time to 
charities and religious work, especially the 
organization of Emmanuel Church. Plis 
house on Arlington Street was the centre 
of such forms of activity. 

A regular correspondence during Wil- 
liam's absence and an almost daily call when 
living at home, kept the brothers in constant 
sympathy. A slight illness of one brought 
the other immediately to his side. Each 
gave to the other's charitable or patriotic in- 
terests. In the development of Longwood 
they worked and owned together. AYhen 
therefore, in 1867, Dr. Lawrence built a 
home next to his brother in Longwood, it 
seemed to be the last touch to their blessings, 
and Mr. Lawrence's record of the fact closes 
with the words, " May God bless our declin- 
ing years and unite us hereafter ; and those 
whom we have loved with those whom we 
so much love now." 



XIII. 

PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 

Having suggested a few of the more per- 
sonal ti'alts of JNIr. Lawrence in the maturity 
of his life, we may now return to the record 
of his interests and activities. 

The echo of the last shot of the war had 
hardly died away before the alumni of Har- 
vard College met to arrange for the recep- 
tion of their brethren who had been in the 
army. From that there naturally sprang 
the thought of a memorial, and by August, 
1865, Mr. Lawrence had recorded " several 
meetings of a college committee to erect a 
Memorial Hall in honor of those of the col- 
lege who fell in the war." He was made a 
chairman of the finance committee, which 
immediately entered upon the task of rais- 
ing the money. Daily committee meetings, 
the enthusiasm and untiring industry of 
Charles G. Loring, J. IngersoU Bowditch, 
Stephen M. Weld, Henry B. llogers, Henry 
Lee, and other loyal sons of the college, soon 
brought about happy results. 




cy^ 



^ 



PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 231 

On February 2, 1866, Mr. Lawrence 
wrote : " Theodore Lyman came to offer 
$5,000 for building Memorial Hall at Cam- 
bridge, if twenty can be found to do the 
same." 

A letter to one of the older alumni tells 
the story of the earliest subscriptions to the 
fund, which (with the Sanders bequest and 
other gifts) finally reached the unexpected 
amount of $387,000. 

Boston, February 28, 1866. 

My dear Sir, — Mr. Richardson of Cam- 
bridge, who lost a son in the war, says that 
he will be one of twenty to give $5,000 each 
to build the Memorial Hall of the alumni. 
Mr. E. R. Mudge, who lost his oldest son in 
the same way, offers the same. Theodore 
Lyman, who served three years and more, 
offers $5,000. Nathan Appleton, who served 
three years, does the same. 

Now these are not the men to build It. 
The two first are not alumni^ and they have 
already given to their country what is dearer 
than their own lives ; the other two have of- 
fered their lives ; and have endured hardship, 
and have incurred expense, while most of 
us alumni were living at ease. I have pro- 



232 A.\fOS A. LAWRENCE. 

posed, and it is agreed to by the committee, 
that the subscribers may pay in instalments, 
one fifth every year. By this last I am in- 
duced to subscribe $5,000. This is hard 
work and slow. But if we get twenty, then 
w^e may be assured of the rest. 

My object in writing this is to seize hold 
of your love for Alma Mater, and to ask you 
whether, if we get nineteen names, you will 
be the twentieth subscriber. This would en- 
courage us very much. 

Very truly j^ours, 

A. A. L. 

The motive of the work is expressed in a 
letter to his cousin, James Lawrence, from 
whom he was asking for a subscription. " It 
seems to be the least that we can do, who 
did not go to the war, to commemorate the 
virtues of those who did go, and especially 
of those who marched and fought and died 
while we were comfortable at home." 

Under the inspiration of this motive, the 
noble Memorial Hall was erected, and 
through the energies of Messrs. C. W. 
Eliot, Lee, and Bowditch, and of Mr. Law- 
rence, who added efficient financial support, 
the college was furnished with a far better 



PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 233 

play-ground than the Delta on which the hall 
stands. 

The next two objects of Mr. Lawrence's 
activity have to do with his religious and 
church life. 

His journals and letters reveal a simple 
faith, a deep, personal piety, and a realiza- 
tion of the heavenly life which are as diffi- 
cult to attain as they are rare among men 
who, like himself, move in the midst of busi- 
ness, political, and social activities. As long 
as he lived in Boston, he attended St. Paul's 
Church, of which he was the treasurer for 
several years. For some time after his re- 
moval to Longwood, his loyalty to St. Paul's 
and devotion to Dr. Vinton led him to go 
to Boston to service. But, wishing always 
to take his family, he found it more conven- 
ient to go to St. Paul's Church, Brookline, 
where, as usual, he did work as vestryman 
and in the Sunday-school. The sympathetic 
nature of Mr. Lawrence was never content 
with official pastoral association. Between 
himself and his minister there always ex- 
isted such friendly and personal relations as 
made him almost as necessary to them as 
they were to him. These few lines from his 
journal suggest the tenderness of the rela- 
tions : — 



234 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

"October 7, 1853. Friday morning at 
six was sent for by Rev. Dr. Stone ; has- 
tened to his house ; went up-stairs and into 
his chamber ; found him sitting up in bed 
partially paralyzed. I put my arm around 
him and endeavored to encourage him ; and 
he soon appeared to rally his spirits. I 
asked him if he wished to send for any of 
his friends, Mr. Upham, Mr. Aspinwall, or 
others. He answered, ' No, Amos, you are 
friend enough for me,' throwing his arms 
about my neck." 

In fact the same regard for ministers of 
high character and varied creeds which 
made his father the friend of President 
Mark Hopkins, Dr. Palfrey, Dr. Lothrop, 
Father Taylor, Father Mathew, and others, 
seemed to descend to the son. 

His house was always open to the cler- 
gymen of the younger as well as the older 
generation, but, with few exceptions, his 
friendship was confined to the latter. Bishop 
Eastburn was for years his next-door neigh- 
bor, and into his house Mr. Lawrence car- 
ried the dying form of Bishop Griswold, who 
had fallen at the steps. Drs. Vinton, Stone, 
Lothrop, Wharton, Peabody, and Professor 
Packard were all close to him in friendly or 



PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 235 

intimate sympathy. Dr. Mark Hopkins 
made an annual visit. Dr. Henry C. Potter 
was his nearest neiglibor as long as he was 
assistant minister of Trinity Church. Of 
him Mr. Lawrence at that time wrote : " He 
is a finished writer and preacher, and fine- 
looking. If he has his health, he will be a 
noted divine of our church and a bishop." 
To Cottage Farm, Bishop) Paddock first 
came after his election ; and he was one of 
the last guests before the death of Mr. Law- 
rence at Nahant. 

Two old saints he kept near him to give, 
as it were, a benediction to his office and to 
his home. On account of his kindly rela- 
tions with the venerable city missionary. Dr. 
E. M. P. Wells, Mr. Lawrence became the 
guardian of the small fund provided for his 
personal needs ; for, like the saints of old, 
the doctor gave away everything. He was 
therefoi-e a frequent visitor at the office, and 
many an hour was snatched from business 
to listen to his holy conversation. " If 
Father Wells does not get to heaven, then 
none of us can expect to reach that much- 
expected home. He is eighty years old, I be- 
lieve. He lost everything by the fire ; but he 
says he gained more than he lost, i. e., grace : 



236 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

the other could not help him long." In 
Long-wood, the oldest presbyter in the dio- 
cese lived and died in a house provided by 
Mr. Lawrence, who took even more satisfac- 
tion in presence of his neighbor than did the 
grateful clergyman in the comfort of his 
home. 

The same hatred of wasted spiritual en- 
ergies which moved him as a young man at 
Bedford, where many churches were built for 
the few inhabitants, followed him through 
life. It was from this point of view that he 
criticised and avoided sectarianism. It was 
more than unchristian ; it was unbusiness- 
like. In 1870, finding his name attached to 
an appeal for an organization which he felt 
would provoke partisanship, he wrote : — 

My dear Sir, — The Church consists of 
all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and 
obey his precepts. And of all the denomi- 
nations into which, through human weakness 
and ignorance, it has become divided, I be- 
lieve the Protestant Episcopal Church is the 
best. On that account I joined it nearly 
forty years ago, and my love for it has in- 
creased ever since. But this does not pre- 
vent my loving Christians of other denomi- 



PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 237 

nations and acting with them ; and especially 
it does not prevent my living and acting 
with those of my own denomination who en- 
tertain opinions in which there are " shades 
of difference." No doubt this movement to 
make all men of one miud will gain adher- 
ents, and churchmen may become so hostile 
to each other as to divide the Church many 
times ; but all this will not make men agree, 
nor will it advance the truth nor the cause 
of religion. 

Holding these views, my name is out of 
place in your organization. 

With sentiments of esteem for yourself 
and for the other gentlemen of the board, 
I remain your obedient servant, 
A. A. L. 

It was in this spirit that, when he found 
the Methodists established in Wisconsin, he 
placed the funds of Lawrence University in 
their hands. When he went to a village or 
summer resort where thei'e was but one 
church, he always worshipped in that. When 
prevented by storm from attending his own 
church at Lynn, he was to be seen in the 
Methodist meeting-house listening to the 
local preacher, or a negro exhorter. For 



238 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

some months he was a teacher in the church 
founded by Mr. Sears, the " Searsarian 
Church," as Mr. Lawrence used to call it. 
He would never allow himself to be class- 
ified with a part}', and was one of the first 
vice - presidents of the Church Congress, 
which he felt would lead to mutual under- 
standing and forbearance. 

It was also a satisfaction to him that, at 
the General Convention of 1865, to which 
he was a delegate, there occurred the recon- 
ciliation of the church, which had been di- 
vided by the war. 

When party feeling was running high, he 
wrote to his daughter, who, while at school 
in New York, attended St. George's Church, 
of which Dr. Tyng was rector : — 

" October 12, 1869. Rev. Dr. Tyng has 
written a remarkable letter. He is a zeal- 
ous man. But he is a revolutionist. He is 
in favor of making a new Prayer Book, and 
of throwing away the old one. This, he 
thinks, will make a new church. I guess it 
will. But it will not be a large one. It will 
rather be an offshoot of a gnarly growth 
from the parent church, and what used to be 
called a schism, and that is the right name 
for it. The doctor is a good Tyng ; but he 



PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 239 

is a ' Tyng ' nevertheless. If you were a 
hundred years old, you would know what 
that means. I don't believe in making di- 
visions in the Church, but in healing them. 
Protestantism is sometimes called a failure 
because it has led to the formation of many 
sects. We should have charity for each 
other, and agree to differ about minor 
things." 

The church at Nahant was a source of great 
satisfaction to him. The preachers, Sunday 
after Sunday, are of different denominations, 
and the worshippers conform to the manner 
of worship of the denomination represented 
by the preacher. For many years two dea- 
cons were chosen to invite and entertain the 
ministers. Mr. Lawrence always took his 
turn as deacon, and looked forward with 
pleasure to the entertainment of the clergy- 
men. He always spoke with great satisfac- 
tion of the fact that for over fifty years 
people of different creeds had worshipped 
together without a jar, and he gave his sup- 
port to the church as an outpost of Christian 
unity. In memory of his interest and bene- 
factions the proprietors have placed a tablet 
in the wall of the church. 

By 1867 Longwood had developed into 



240 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

quite a community. With a sense of respon- 
sibility for the spritual welfare of tlie people 
whom they had drawn together, Mr. Law- 
rence and his brother joined in building a 
stone church in memor}'^ of their father. In 
March, 1868, it was consecrated under the 
name of " The Church of our Saviour," and 
was presented to a corporation, to be held 
in trust. With a wish to interest the people 
in the work, Mr. Lawrence and his brother 
persistently refused to be conspicuous in the 
church, and, when possible, sat far back, that 
there might be no thought on the part of 
others of proprietorship. For years a good 
part of the financial burden fell upon them ; 
but, while always taking it, their object was 
to educate the people into a sense of respon- 
sibility in the support of public worship. 

As early as 1852 Mr. Lawrence had urged 
the building of galleries in St. Paul's Church, 
Boston, that seats might be made for poor 
persons. Therefore, with a desire to do 
everything to make the building a church 
for all the people, the brothers entered with 
enthusiasm some years later into making all 
the seats free. During the last year of his 
life, while Mrs. Lawrence was giving a stone 
rectory, he presented some property to be 



PHILANTnROPIG INTERESTS. 241 

held in trust for the preservation and sup- 
port of the church. 

It was a sight seen oftener in old Eng- 
land than in this country, — the two vener- 
able brothers with their families joining the 
group of neighbors, as they walked to the 
door of the memorial church, then worship- 
ping together like one large family. On 
week-days as well as Sundays, they might 
both be found with the little company of 
faithful worshippers. As if to continue 
their close association there, a memorial tab- 
let records their names, with the inscrip- 
tion : — 

Together They Built This Church In Mem- 
ory Of Their Father, Amos Lawrence. 

Lovely And Pleasant In Their Lives, And 
In Their Death They Were Not Divided. 

Early in 1867 Mr. Benjamin T. Reed gave 
ilOO,000 towards the foundation of an Epis- 
copal Theological School, and, having the in- 
tention of finally devoting his whole fortune 
to the object, he called about him a board 
of five trustees, composed of Robert C. 
Winthrop, James S. Amory, Edward S. 
Rand, J. P. Putnam, and Mr. Lawrence. 

The munificence of the gift and its reli- 
gious object appealed to the interest of Mr. 



242 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

Lawrence. Moreover, in the plan he saw a 
long-desired ojjportunity to bring a more 
positive religious element into the neighbor- 
hood of Harvard College. The religious in- 
fluences at Cambridge had been a source of 
anxiety to him, and he had always felt 
that the identification of a Unitarian Divin- 
ity School with the college was a positive 
injury to both, and as a member of the cor- 
poration he had urged some change. When, 
therefore, the question of a site for the The- 
ological School was raised, and when some of 
Mr. Reed's friends advised strongly against 
Cambridge on account of its Unitarian and 
negative religious influence, Mr. Lawrence 
joined with others in pressing the establish- 
ment of the site in Cambridge, and as near 
the college as possible. They felt convinced 
(and experience has justified their convic- 
tion) that the contact with the university 
life would be an advantage to the school, 
and that the school and its chaj^el might 
exert a positive influence upon the life of 
the university. As usual, the position of 
treasurer, which he continued to hold for 
fifteen years, fell to his lot, and he again 
took up his rides through the Cambridge 
roads which had been so familiar to him 



PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 243 

when treasurer of the college. His satisfac- 
tion in the work was enhanced by the re- 
newed association with two of his old pas- 
tors, Drs. Stone and Wharton, who were 
called to fill chairs in the new institution. 
His familiarity with the jolace made him ac- 
tive in the selection of sites, and in 1869 
the school laid its permanent foundations in 
its present beautiful position, the choice of 
which was hastened by the ojffier by his old 
partner, Robert M. Mason, to build St. 
John's Memorial Chapel. 

Mr. Lawrence determined to mark his 
gratitude for thirty years of exceptional 
blessings in the way expressed in this letter 
to the trustees of the school : — 

(Near) Boston, June 23, 1873. 
Gentlemen, — More than a year ago, on 
the anniversary of my marriage, I was so 
much impressed with the remembrance of 
the great goodness of God to myself and my 
numerous family, during the thirty years 
which have elapsed without any cessation to 
our prosperity and happiness, that I wished 
to make some acknowledgment, and to have 
some permanent, and if possible some use- 
ful memorial of it. 



244 A 31 OS A. LAWRENCE. 

Therefore, after purchasing the requisite 
amount of land, I commenced the building 
of a dormitory for the use of our theolog- 
ical students, corres2)onding with the chapel 
and with the plan of building adopted by 
the trustees. Before the next meetins; this 
work will be done so far as to accommodate 
twenty students, and the rooms will be fur- 
nished. At a future time, if it should be 
required, I may complete the design by add- 
ing twenty rooms more. 

Meantime, having placed a brief inscrip- 
tion over the entrance, to indicate the cir- 
cumstances which conduced to its erection, 
I beg to present the whole to the trustees, 
in the hope that it will be useful in advan- 
cing the cause for which we are associated, 
and which we all have at heart. 

Faithfully yours, A. A. L. 

In 1873 the first half of the building was 
completed, and in 1880 the second half was 
added, making one side of the open quad- 
rangle, which, with the chapel and other 
buildings since presented by Mr. Reed and 
Mr. John A. Burnham, now form a pictur- 
esque group of stone. 

Over the door of the dormitory stands this 
inscription : — 




J 

V 

^ 



PHILANTHROPIC INTERESTS. 245 

IN • MEMORIAM * SUMSL^ ' 
DEI ' BENEVOLENTI^E 

PRID • KAIi • APRIL * M D CCC LXXH * 

During the term of his treasurership, Mr. 
Lawrence had the usual privilege of advan- 
cing money and helping to make up deficits, 
but he had the satisfaction of seeing the 
school develop in strength far beyond the 
expectation of its founder. 



XIV. 

MATURE TEARS. 

1867-1882. 

In 1867 the active routine of twenty-five 
years had begun to affect Mr. Lawrence's 
health ; he had the first sharp warnings of in- 
digestion, neuralgia, and depression of spirits, 
and by the doctor's advice decided to pass a 
summer in Europe. His social disposition 
never allowed him to travel alone ; the larger 
the party the more he enjoyed a joui*ney. If 
at any time a trip to the South or West was 
advised by the physician (and a physician's 
advice alone could drive him from home), he 
called on some friends to make up a com- 
pany. His cousin, Dr. Samuel A. Green, 
was always ready to start with him, or with 
any of his family, at twenty -four hours' 
notice. On this summer journey, in which 
he renewed the memories of his bachelor 
travels, he had a family party of twelve, 
which partially compensated him for the loss 



MATURE YEARS. 247 

of home life ; though even under these cir- 
cumstances he felt restless and sometimes 
homesick until he recrossed the Channel and 
was driving through the homelike fields and 
lanes of England. The break of routine 
enabled him to return refreshed to added 
responsibilities. 

The business of the Cocheco and Salmon 
Falls Companies had increased very much on 
Mr. Lawrence's hands, but experience and 
system had put them into such shape that 
he was able to enlarge his work. Feeling; 
that this country ought not to be dependent 
upon others for the clothing of her peojjle, 
and believing that the skill and industry of 
the New Engiander would, if temporarily 
protected, produce cheaper and better goods 
than Old England could supply, he was 
tempted to become a manufacturer as well 
as a commission merchant and a farmer. 

Therefore in 1860 he bought a mill at Ips- 
wich for the manufacture of hosiery and 
other knit goods. But the industry was a 
new one in this countr}% the machinery was 
crude, the labor unskilled, and the American 
people had not realized that hosiery could 
be made here, and therefore refused to buy 
anything with an American mark. The 



248 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

experiment resulted at first in heavy and 
steady losses. For years Ipswich was a recep- 
tacle for profits from other sources. In Jan- 
uary, 1868, Mr. Lawrence wrote : "Am start- 
ing up my mill at Ipswich again, which has 
been stopped for a few weeks. This attempt 
to manufacture cotton stockings by machin- 
ery so that they can be sold at $1.50 a dozen 
has caused me to lose not less than $100 a 
day for 800 days, $80,000. Yet I am not 
discouraged, though I feel the loss very much, 
for I want a great deal of money to use." 
If at any time for several years he was 
attacked with indigestion, it was his habit to 
lay it, with good reason, to " too much Ips- 
wich." 

However, after a hard and persistent 
struggle of twenty years, he had the satis- 
faction of seeing his object gained, cheap 
American stockings and other knit goods 
sold by the million to the American people. 
And it was with the greatest pleasure that 
he saw his friends and family buying goods 
of his own manufacture under the impres- 
sion given by the salesmen at the retail shop 
that they were French or English. This in- 
terest, which was increased later by the pur- 
chase of the Gilmanton and Ashland jNlills 



MATURE YEARS. 249 

in New Hampshire, made him the largest 
knit goods manufacturer in the country and 
led him to encourage the formation of the 
Association of Knit Goods Manufacturers, of 
which he was president for some time, as he 
had been of the National Association of Cot- 
ton Manufacturers and Plantei'S. 

In 1870 he also took the selling agency 
of the Arlington Mills in Lawrence, which 
increased rapidly and added to his responsi- 
bility. 

The manufacture of knit goods brought 
him into closer relations than ever with the 
tariff question, and caused his recommen- 
dations to have great weight in the con- 
struction of the earlier knit goods tariff bills. 
Few things are more dreary than the rehear- 
sal of tariff discussions ; it may be enough, 
therefore, to say that Mr. Lawrence, in the 
earlier part of his business life, advocated a 
high tariff for the protection of infant in- 
dustries, but as years passed he believed in 
the gradual reduction of that protection, 
and in later years he was very positive in 
the advocacy of more moderate duties, es- 
pecially on raw materials. 

In all his business relations Mr. Law- 
rence was quick to decide and to act ; be- 



250 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

sides judgment, he had that other trait nec- 
essary to success in business — courage ; he 
readily caught the point of a problem, and 
was restless until it was answered. He 
would chafe at listening to an explanation 
which was a few minutes too long, and then 
would turn to sit patiently for a half an 
hour while some missionary from the West 
or an agent of a charitable society would 
slowly unfold his tale. Experience led him 
to believe more and more in system, and to 
shrink from attending to details himself. 

Writing to his elder son, who had just 
entered business with him, he said, " Losses 
are made in a day, while profits are a long 
time accumulating. Let us adopt a good 
system and then not be anxious about re- 
sults." " It is not easy to save money in 
commission and manufacturing business, and 
much skill and judgment are required in 
both. The cause is this, that it is difficult 
to avoid losses, much more difficult than it 
is to make profits. I am led to make this 
remark from looking over L. & Co.'s trial 
balance." 

The faculty of quick decision and system- 
atizing enabled Mr. Lawrence to bring the 
hours of his own business into a very short 



MATURE YEARS. 251 

compass. The greatei' part of office hours 
was given to other people's affairs. Besides 
the public interests already described, he was 
active in establishing a line of steamships 
from Boston to New Orleans and was presi- 
dent of the company; he was also the first 
president of the New England Trust Com- 
pany, and a director in the Massachusetts 
Hospital Life Company and in a number of 
manufacturing and mercantile corporations. 
As an officer of the Massachusetts Society of 
the Cincinnati, the Bunker Hill Monument 
Association, the Massachusetts Society for 
Promoting Agriculture, and the Home for 
Aged Men, he took a lively interest in these 
associations. When Dr. Howe, with his in- 
extinguishable love of liberty, espoused the 
cause of the Cretans in their struggle with 
the Turks, his Kansas memories prompted 
him to turn to Mr. Lawrence to act as treas- 
urer of the funds. All such duties, as well 
as the giving to deserving objects, were ac- 
companied with a sense of satisfaction ; but 
there was one class whom, on account of his 
sympathetic nature, he unconsciously en- 
couraged, and yet whom he could not treat 
with patience, — the chronic borrowers. The 
only satisfaction he ever took in lending to 



252 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

such people was the hope, which was usually 
a forlorn one, that they would not show their 
faces again. The following is one of a mass 
of letters which tell the same story : — 

Boston, August 9, 1872. 

Dear Sir, — A large sheet might be cov- 
ered with the reasons why I cannot lend 
money, not even to my nearest friends. But 
I will only say that it would be as safe as 
taking out the bung from a barrel of cider. 
In my case it is the only barrel in the house. 
It is good cider and the bung is in the bot- 
tom, as the barrel lays. 

For twenty years I have been busy writ- 
ing letters, with reasons. For ten years be- 
fore that I lent some money, and wrote some 
letters. In both cases I was the loser, and 
don't think anybody was the gainer. 

Yours truly, A. A. L. 

His resolution not to lend was better than 
his practice, for on several occasions his sym- 
pathy for acquaintances in financial distress 
lead him into heavy losses. But that no ill 
will was harbored is seen by this letter to a 
person who had borrowed several thousand 
dollars, who announced a few days after that 
he had failed. 



MATURE YEARS. 253 

Boston, November 13, 1873. 

My dear Sir, — Your note is received 
with great regret, chiefly ou your account (I 
trust) and not on mine ; for your disappoint- 
ment must be infinitely greater than mine 
can be. You have been most unfortunate ; 
but nobody has said that you have been in 
fault, that I ever heard, except in judgment. 
And many great and good men have erred 
strangely in their judgment of business mat- 
ters. Rev. Mr. Beecher says he rather 
thinks that those who are most unfortunate 
in this world (without intentionally doing 
wrong) will be the favored ones in the next, 
and he says that if he takes off his hat in 
the street to any man, it will be to him who 
has struggled to do his duty and who has in 
a good measure succeeded in that ; but who 
has failed in achieving any worldly success. 

I am rather of Mr. Beecher's opinion. 
Yours truly, A. A. L. 

In one form of beneficence he took keen 
delight ; that of sending unexpected gifts to 
literary men whose salaries were such as to 
demand strict economy. Now and again a 
box of fine tea or a check or a cloak would 
be delivered at the door of some professor 



254 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

at Bowdoin, Williams, oi' Harvard, accom- 
panied by a brief line which gave grace to 
the gift. He could not open a fresh box of 
cigars without the satisfaction of feelinsr 
that some clergyman had a duplicate. The 
old librarian of Harvard College, whose 
economy was only exceeded by his generos- 
ity, pours out his thanks for a new cloak; 
" Mrs. S. has been chiding me a long time 
for wearing my old one till it has now got to 
be the twenty-ninth winter, and says she is 
delighted ; and she desires me to express her 
gratitude for your practical wisdom in trying 
' to make me look decent.' " 

At sixty years of age Mr. Lawrence was 
still active in body and bright in society, but 
his nervous sj'stem was weakened. Neural- 
gia again laid its torturing grasp on him and 
depression of spirits resulted. To those who 
suffered like him he gave good advice. To 
a farmer in Maine he wrote : " You write 
as though your spirits were poor. But you 
must remember that this is the season when 
the bile is stagnant. Take a little cood 
cider with your dinner ; take a little in the 
morning before breakfast with saleratus in 
it. Put a strengthening plaster on your 
back between your shoulders. Take a little 



MATURE YEARS. 255 

whiskey if it suits. Go out and sit on the 
warm side of the house, and listen to the 
birds in the morning." 

To his friend Le Baron, who suffered 
from the same trouble, he sent word, " Now, 
my dear old Baron, I charge nothing for my 
advice. Brom. potas. is good : so is quin- 
ine ; and bismuth ; and some whiskey. But 
God holds the key of our minds." 

Still he found it hard to act always on his 
own advice. 

In trying to help friends in business he 
had met with some losses which were more 
annoying than serious ; the fall of his horse 
upon his ankle had cut off his customary ex- 
ercise — and, more than all, four children 
had married and had left his house for 
homes of their own. " What strikes me 
most is the quickness with which our chil- 
dren have come and gone," he wx'ote to his 
son ; and one great dread of his life was the 
thought, " What shall we do if we live till all 
our children have left us ? " He took great 
satisfaction in the way that each of them 
left home, and yet he never could reconcile 
himself to their absence. The house had 
been so full of noise and activity for years, 
and he had become accustomed to the echo 



25G AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

of young voices in the halls, that even the 
absence of some of the family for a short 
visit would depress him. His sympathetic 
natui-e was not satisfied without the presence 
of those whom he loved, but the very inten- 
sity of his sympathy made him a poor nui'se 
and assistant in the sick room. At about 
this time sickness took its first strong hold 
in the family. In 1870 Mrs. Lawrence, who 
had borne the cares of the large household, 
suffered in health for some months, but was 
restored by a few weeks with Mr. Lawrence 
and a part of the family in Europe. In 
1875 a son who was just entering work in 
the ministry was stricken with typhoid fever ; 
at the same time a daughter was brought to 
the point of death. In the long illness of 
the latter, lasting two or three years, Mr. 
Lawrence followed the even course of his 
life, though consumed by anxiety ; and the 
only outlet for his sympathies was found in 
visiting the sick in other houses. He had 
always been a frequent visitor when friends 
were ill or in trouble, but from this time the 
habit became constant. The object in his 
ride was almost always an invalid. Such 
an afternoon as this was his frequent rou- 
tine. 



MATURE YEARS. 257 

" February 2. Went in a sleigh with Sa- 
rah to visit Tom Knowles (my farmer's son), 
who is failing- by consumption. Then to see 
Harry Slade, of the same age, who has the 
same disease. Poor boys ! So early laid 
on the bed of suffering and death. May 
God in his mercy comfort them, and prepare 
them for his heavenly kingdom. Visited old 
sick neighbor, Mr. Hichborn." 

Then came a shock from an unexpected 
quarter as told in his journal. 

"Nahant, July 1, 1879. Dr. Williams 
told me that a ' cataract ' is forming in my 
right eye. It made itself known by a 
blurred, cloudy appearance before the spy- 
glass through which I was looking to the 
sea from my piazza. God give me grace 
and strength to bear this and all the ills of 
this body with fortitude, and, if possible, 
with cheerfulness, knowing that He will 
never afflict except in mercy." 

However, he held to the routine of his life, 
but the proportion of time given to the dif- 
ferent pursuits changed. His son Amory 
was now able to relieve him of a large part 
of the responsibility of the business, though 
Mr. Lawrence went daily to the office for 
two or three hours and gave his advice in the 



258 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

more important matters. He also held to 
his other interests, and even entered upon 
new ones. Tom Hughes' Rugby experiment 
appealed to his love of enterprise and faith 
in good settlements. Elected an overseer of 
Harvard University, he took a keen interest 
in all the discussions, which at that time 
were exceptional in brilliancy and ability on 
account of the important reforms then in 
view. And his short, quaint speeches added 
strength and humor to the debates. To the 
last he opposed the spirit of secularization 
of the college. 

Hearing of the struggle of the Misses 
Smith of Glastonbury, who allowed tlieir 
property to be sold for taxes because they 
as women had no voice in the appropria- 
tion of the taxes, he went to their rescue 
witli letters and money, and with some chiv- 
alry expressed his views. 

" The taxation of the property of women 
without allowing them any representation in 
town affairs is so unjust that it seems only 
necessary to bring it to public notice to excite 
the interest of all honest voters to make a 
change. Therefore you deserve the greater 
honor for resisting that injustice, and for set- 
ing an example which must lead to reform. 



MATURE YEARS. 259 

" Your case has its parallel in every town- 
ship in New England. In the town where 
this is written a widow pays tf 7,830, while 
six hundred men, a number equal to half 
the whole number of voters, pay $1,200 in 
all. Another lady pays $5,042. Yet neither 
has a single vote, not even by proxy. That 
is, each one of six hundred men who have no 
property and pay only a poll tax, many of 
whom cannot read or write, has the power of 
voting away the property of the town, while 
the females have no power at all. 

" We have lately spent a day in celebrat- 
ing the heroism of those who threw over the 
tea; but how trifling was the tea tax and 
how small the injustice to individuals com- 
pared with this one of our day. The prin- 
ciple, however, is the same, that there should 
be no taxation withoiit representation." 

To a gentleman who hoped that another 
woman suffragist had been raised up, he 
stated his opinions in a more positive way. 

Boston, October 14, 18T-4. 

Dear Sir, — Universal (manhood) suf- 
frage has proved to be a failure in the cities 
and thickly settled communities, and all 
through the South : chiefly because it is not 



260 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

based on intelligence, nor on character, nor 
on property. To give the right to vote to all 
the women would only be to increase the evil. 
It seems to me that the women who are 
taxed should have the right to vote, and if 
that is refused, they have the right to rebel : 
and the men would have a right to help 
them, that is, those who chose to. 

Yours truly, A. A. L. 

With the approach of old age he naturally 
turned with pleasure to the scenes of his boy- 
hood. As his younger son was rector of 
Grace Church, Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence 
was enabled to visit the North Parish, An- 
dover, and look up the old school-house, 
which he recognized transformed into a 
barn ; he took intense delight in talking over 
the days with his former school-mates Sur- 
geon General Dale and Captain Chever ; 
and as long as the poor old sexton John 
Frye lived in his filthy hovel, Mr. Lawrence 
insisted on sending money to keep him out 
of the poor-house, where the town authori- 
ties insisted that he ought to go. 

His associations with Groton had been 
kept up by correspondence and occasional 
visits. He was still interested in the affairs 



MATURE YEARS. 2G1 

and people of the town, as the following let- 
ter to his aunt Eliza (Mrs. Green), who had 
cared for hitn after the death of his mother, 
and with whom he kej^t up an affectionate 
corresiDondence for over fifty years, shows. 

Boston, March 29, 1871. 

My DEAR Aunt, — If you ever see Mr. 
Spaulding who makes the cider, will you be 
good enough to give my compliments to him 
and inform him that there is one denomina- 
tion of Christians who will not think worse 
of him for having made such a delightful 
and wholesome drink. I do not believe that 
his success in this particular would of itself 
entitle him to be received and duly enrolled 
as a member of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church ; but it would be counted in among 
his other virtues, of which he is said to have 
many. With this I send a pamphlet which 
will explain the theory and practice of that 
religious denomination, which you perhaps 
will hand to him. Though it says nothing 
about making cider or drinking it, it will be 
easily inferred from it that he who makes 
good cider, and gives good measure, for a 
reasonable jn-ice, is so far a public benefac- 
tor. And that is true of Mr. Spaulding. 



202 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

There is a story that he has been excluded 
from the Groton church for the exercise of 
this homely art of making good cider, and 
on that account I have written this letter. 
With love to all, 

Your affectionate nephew, 

A. A. L. 

But with the death of his aunts and 
friends in Groton, his memories became so 
tender and sad that he did not dare to go 
there often. 

The death of old black Peter Hazard, who 
had been a pensioner of the family for three 
generations, called him back once, and the 
simple country funeral is thus described : — 

" November 12, 1880. Went to Groton 
with Dr. Green to bury my old friend, Peter 
Hazard, who was one hundred and one yeai'S 
old. It was a primitive country funeral at 
Peter's house (mine, which he has lived in 
free of rent) by the Nashua river, on the 
borders of my woods : not another house in 
sight. There were his two married daugh- 
ters and their children, and many friends, 
white and colored. A good service of sing- 
ing, prayer, and exhortation by Mr. Robie, 
the Orthodox minister. Then we shook hands 



MATURE YEARS. 263 

with the relatives and drove away. Peter's 
body lay in a handsome coffin, dressed in his 
best clothes, and looking as though he were 
asleep. Good old Peter, farewell, we hope 
not forever. It is sixty and more years since 
our acquaintance began. Then you swam 
with me on your shoulders across the Nashua, 
and held me on your knee, and cared for me 
when I was weak and recovering from a fe- 
ver. My grandfather and grandmother and 
all of us loved Peter and his sister Lucy, 
peaceful, kind members of our Groton fam- 
ily. Sam Green took me to the burial 
ground where rest the bodies of our relatives 
and friends. I read their dear names on the 
headstones : I looked off to the grand old 
Wachusett and Monadnock, the mountains 
which bounded my boyish world. They 
brought back the old memories of my child- 
hood. How brief seemed this life ! how 
worthless much that men prize ! I hardly 
knew whether I was living in the present or 
the past. God help us all to live as in thy 
presence, and without sin, ready to go hence 
at thy summons, to meet those who have 
been dear to us, and whom we believe to be 
with Thee in heaven. 

" Went over the old homestead, which 



264 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

James has enlarged and beautified. Here 
came the memories again. Sam was sad, 
and so was I ; but we talked of old times and 
laughed away our tears. Reached home af- 
ter dark." 

On the last Christmas of his life he gave 
his cousin, Dr. Samuel A. Green (who was his 
ready agent in many charities and in the pur- 
chase of a rich collection of Revolutionary 
and Rebellion literature for the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society), -$400 for distribu- 
tion among sixteen old persons in Groton. 

Two occupations steadily increased, — his 
out-of-door life and his visits on the sick and 
aged. Though his eyesight was failing, he 
either continued in the saddle, or else he 
would take some young neighbor or other 
companion to drive. Except when the neu- 
ralgia caught him, no weather was too rough, 
and until he was seventy he knew no greater 
delight than a good skate on Jamaica Pond 
or a coast down Amory's Hill. 

Every morning Mr. Lawrence would start 
in his buggy for the counting-room, but it 
was seldom that he reached there without call- 
ing at some houses on the way, to inquire for 
some sick one, to leave a few pats of fresh 
butter for an invalid, or to take a pink to his 



MATURE YEARS. 265 

grandson, Amos. A few lines from his jour- 
nal tell the story and suggest the variety 
of his friends. 

" November 30. Sick calls. To Alanson 
Tucker, who is in bed, and sees no one but 
his family. Visited Mrs. James K. MiUs. 
She looks worn and ill. But she was glad 
to converse, and grateful for kindness. 

" December 1. Visited my old friend, Mrs. 
Clapp, at the Brunswick hotel. She is a 
widow, and lives alone. Called on sick Mrs. 
Eyan in the village : gave her money. Then 
on old Mr. Warren and his wife. Took them 
clothes, very poor. Then Miss Laura Rog- 
ers, w^ho mourns the loss of her aunt, my old 
friend, Martha C. Derby. 

" 2. Visited my friend, Henry B. Rogers, 
who has been in Europe since the death of 
his wife. He and his daughter Annette live 
together. Seemed glad to see me. Excel- 
lent people. 

" Visited the widow of the late Rev. Dr. 
Andrew Bigelow. She was delighted to see 
me. She is, a Spiritualist, and immediately 
gave me a communication from my mother ; 
also from my uncle Abbott. She talked 
fluently and well. Gave her twenty dollars 
for her poor." 



266 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

But the spring of 1882 opened sadly for 
Mr. Lawrence. Though he fully realized 
his exceptionally happy surroundings, yet ill 
attuned nerves and neuralgia had depressed 
his sj)irits; only one child was left in the 
home where seven had once lived ; death had 
been busy among his old friends ; his failiug 
sight had caused him an injury by falling, 
and had made him less confident in walking. 

" My eyesight grows feebler with cata- 
ract," he wrote ; " one is almost gone. With 
age must come the loss of our faculties, one 
by one. If it leads us to look upwards more, 
for heavenly light, then the loss may be 
changed to gain." 

In May, however, occurred the great sor- 
row of his life, — the death of his oldest 
daughter, Mary. Up to this time, the unity 
of Mr. Lawrence's family had been remark- 
able. On the preceding Thanksgiving Day 
he had been able to record : "In the after- 
noon assembled all our children and grand- 
children ; all who have been born to us. 
How remarkable, after nearly forty years of 
married life, to have health and life con- 
tinued — twenty-five in all." The married 
children lived in Long wood or Boston, with 
the exception of one son who was only an 



MATURE YEARS. 267 

hour away in Lawrence. But Mary, who 
with her husband, Dr. Amory, and her child 
lived near by, was in and out of the house 
continually. Her handsome, bright face and 
cheery laugh were likely to break in upon 
the quiet homestead at any moment. In her 
girlhood, Mr. Lawrence had written of her 
with perfect truth : " She is truthful, con- 
scientious, kind to all, and I trust sincerely 
religious. Everything she does affords me 
pleasure, because she does it cheerfully and 
as though it were her duty. Her religion 
seems to be of a practical and at the same 
time of a cheerful kind." 

And yet though he was so easily depressed 
by the slight illness of a child, or by his own 
indisposition, he was one of those who seem 
to take the heavy blows with perfect equa- 
nimity. 

From the first hour of her short illness un- 
til months after her death, a stranger would 
never have guessed the anguish in his heart. 
He was as calm as she in the face of death, 
and with composure prayed with her as she 
was dying. After all was over, he was more 
than ever tender and gracious in meeting 
every one ; as was his habit he continued 
to whistle unconsciously as he worked and 



268 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

walked, and on the day of the funeral began 
ajrain his routine of calls. After the ser- 
vices in the church in which she had worked 
and for which she had devoted some of her 
best energies, her body was laid to rest in 
Forest Hills. But Mr. Lawrence seemed to 
take the spirit of her life with him, as he 
wrote on his return : " Dear Mary : dear, 
good, lovely, and loving daughter, may you 
rest in the dear Saviour's arms, and may we 
follow the example of your good life, until 
we too are called to meet you in heaven. 
God grant this for Jesus' sake." 



D^, uyv">^oi_ uwX!o vXv«- txJj-c e/tl.'v-v>_««j2_ , 



XV. 

LAST YEARS. 

1882-1886. 

It will be rememLered that Mr. Lawrence 
had entered business for himself, and by his 
own ability had reached his present position. 
In the mean time the old firm of A. & A. 
Lawrence & Co. had dissolved and their 
large business had been distributed among 
different firms. The largest selling agency, 
that of the Pacific Mills, had been given to 
Messrs. James L. Little & Co., who in 1882 
resigned the charge. It was with great sat- 
isfaction that Mr. Lawrence learned that the 
directors of the Pacific Mills had offered the 
agency to his firm of Lawrence & Co., for it 
was the indorsement by those best able to 
judge of his own Vjusiness capacity and suc- 
cess, and it was a fitting climax to his mer- 
cantile life. Moreover, a return of this 
great agency to the family was significant of 
their ability to handle it. 



. 270 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

His record is cliaracteristic. 

"January 6, 1883. The Pacific Mills 
Corporation, through its directors (all of 
whom signed the proposition), have offered 
to my firm the direction of their vast busi- 
ness, the largest in the United States. May 
God direct us to a right decision ; and if we 
undertake it, may He give us success and 
wisdom to use the results in his service, and 
not in selfish gratification ; so that we, and 
our children after us, may not be damaged 
by it. Amen.'' 

It required courage to assume, at his age, 
new and heavy responsibilities, and to reor- 
ganize the firm by calling in new partners ; 
but with the help of his son he undertook it, 
throwing off the smaller selling agencies and 
retaining only the Cocheco and Salmon Falls 
with the Pacific. 

Other new philanthropic interests gave 
him thought and work. At this time he 
realized more than ever the evils of the liq- 
uor traffic, and its baneful effects in poli- 
tics and social life ; and he threw himself 
with much activity into several forms of 
temperance work, especially the Law and 
Order League. 

Utah was also drawing the attention of 



LAST YEARS. 271 

the people through the efforts of Congress 
to suppress Mormonism. Here seemed to 
be auother opportunity, by self - sacrificing 
immigration, to fill Utah with Christian citi- 
zens and to free the Territory f i-om the curse, 
as Kansas was freed from slavery a genera- 
tion ago. Mr. Eli Thayer, Mr. Branscomb 
(one of the first Kansas agents), the Rev. 
Edward Everett Hale, Mr. Williams, and 
other Kansas veterans, now joined forces 
again, organized, obtained a charter, and at 
the expense of Mr. Lawrence sent out scouts 
to Utah to study the country and the op- 
portunities for an emigrant crusade. It was 
touching to see these men, now old if not 
infirm, calling others together in Mr. Law- 
rence's parlor to polish again their rusty in- 
struments of patriotic emigration for this 
campaign. But it was of no use. The im- 
mediate reason for dropping the scheme was 
the discovery that the Mormons had posses- 
sion of all the available farming land ; but 
in fact a new generation had risen, the 
moral enthusiasm and the crisis were want- 
ing, and the leaders were men who could 
never again rouse the energies of the rising 
life as they had in Kansas days. The work, 
however, gave Mr. Lawrence many busy and 
happy hours. 



272 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

In September, 1883, the last wedding took 
place from Longwood. Mr. Lawrence wrote 
on the day of the wedding : "Our last un- 
married child has left us. All have homes 
of their own. God be praised for his good- 
ness to us ! Henceforth, ' forgetting those 
things which are behind, let us reach forth 
unto those things which are before, and 
press toward the mark of the prize of the 
high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' Dear 
wife ! dear children ! how my heart goes 
out to you all ! Let us rejoice evermore." 

"September 30. My dear wife Sarah 
and I are now living in our house alone, as 
when we were first married. Dear, good 
wife she has been to me, the light of my 
life and my chief worldly support. May we 
live together hereafter forever! But our 
house does seem lonely with all our children 
gone out of it. God alone can support and 
cheer us now, near life's end. To Him I 
look for light to illumine the darkness which 
deepens as years increase." 

He tried to drive away the sense of loneli- 
ness with renewed calls. He became a Vis- 
itor of the Associated Charities in Roxbiiry, 
and went about among the sick neighbors. 
Many afternoons were passed like this : 



LAST years: 273 

" Very cold wind. Walked to Brookline ; 
called on Moses Kimball (74), hurt on 
railroad, very bright and cheerful. Called 
on old Madame Wakefield (90). She em- 
braced me. Deaf and failing, but still 
strong ; poor old woman. To Brother Wil- 
liam's as usual. Dined at six o'clock." 

But his ment:il depression and sensitive 
nerves reacted on each other. He writes : 
" December 20. Neuralgia. Pain, pain ; 
sinking of the heart for many days and 
nights. Father in heaven, put under me 
thy everlasting arms, and sustain me and 
comfort me." 

Thinking that the society of friends and 
children in Boston would cheer him, he and 
Mrs. Lawrence lived for three or four 
months in the house of their daughter, who 
was in Europe for her health, and here, 
with his friends, James S. Amory Robert 
C. Winthrop, William R. Robeson, Dr. 
Hodges, and others, as near neighbors, and 
with children and relatives frequently call- 
ing, he passed the time happily. 

He was now able to renew his attendance 
at the Thursday Evening Club, and the 
Massachusetts Historical Society, of which 
he had been a member for many years. 



274 AMOS A. LA WHENCE. 

For thirty years it had been his unfulfilled 
expectation to visit Kansas, to see the places 
and the people so familiar by name, and the 
university which his bounty had founded. 
After declining many urgent invitations 
from Governor Kobinson and the hospitable 
citizens, he at last, in 1884, made the journey. 
He looked for a quiet visit, such as his health 
would endure, but the reception was so gen- 
erous and overwhelming that it was too 
much for his sympathies, and, for fear lest 
he should break down altogether, he beat a 
hasty retreat from the grateful people. 

The spring of 1884 had brought its har- 
vest of deaths of the aged, among them his 
business associate of forty-one years, Mr. 
Mather, whose regularity at the office had 
hardly suggested to others the thought of 
age. Mr. James S. Amory had also dropped 
from the ranks of his dearest friends. 

During the summer, Mr. Lawrence still 
rode his mare " Pet " along the rocky shores 
of Nahant, though his eyesight was failing ; 
and, as he wrote on his seventy-first birth- 
day, " Sarah, my dear, devoted wife, remains 
to be my companion and helper, the guar- 
dian angel of my house and of my heart. 
Though she and I are left alone in our house, 



LAST YEARS. 275 

it is because our children have made happy 
homes of their own, and the eldest, our dear 
Mary, has, we trust, a happier home in the 
heavens." 

Another year of the same roixtine, short 
business hours, long drives, short rides, many 
calls and letters of sympathy to others, passed 
away. He retired from some duties, such 
as the position on the Board of Trustees of 
the Episcopal Theological School, and the 
Ovex'seers of Harvard College. He met the 
old Class of '35 for the last time at Com- 
mencement, as he writes : — 

"June 25. Fiftieth Anniversary of our 
graduation at Cambridge. Twenty-one sur- 
vivors of our class met in Holworthy. Some 
had not met for fifty years. Dear old boys ! 
How cheery they were ! Boys over again. 
I thank God for having spared my life so 
long. More than half of our whole number 
(fifty-eight) have gone on before. To-day 
there were present E. Appleton, C. V. 
Bemis, H. G. O. Blake, John Carr of Vir- 
ginia, whom we had not seen for fifty years, 
J. H. Elliot, Charles H. Gates, J. L. Good- 
ridge, E. R. Hoar, W. Ingalls, J. Alsop 
King (fifty years nearly), A. A. Lawrence, 
H. Lyon, C. W. Palfrey, Charles H. Parker, 



276 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

W. R. Robeson, C. C. Shackford, C. W. 
Storey, F. M. Weld, B. H. West. 

" There were living, but not there, W. H. 
Allen (off West ; he wrote a good letter) ; 
J. S. Beal (fading out at Kingston) ; W. F. 
Frick, Baltimore (he ought to have come) ; 
F. Jones ; Edward Lander (in Washing- 
ton) ; L. Stephens; N. L. White; F. E. 
White (very ill) ; Samuel Willard (sick 
and blind). There was a plenty to eat and 
drink, all of which was furnished by E. R. 
Hoar. We were joyous for a while, but sad 
when we reflected that this is the last meet- 
ing on earth for most of us. 

"After our meeting in Holworthy, we 
joined the procession of graduates to Me- 
morial Hall. J. Russell Lowell and others 
made speeches, Choate of New York pre- 
sided. Hoar answered for our class. God 
bless the dear old boys for the remnant of 
their days." 

For two or three years his brother Wil- 
liam's health had been failing, and instead 
of the morning call in Longwood of Wil- 
liam upon Amos, and the return call at sun- 
set, there was now only the sunset call. 
After dusk on the winter evenings, Amos, 



LAST YEARS. 277 

with imperfect vision, would slowly make his 
way over the familiar path to William's 
house ; and then the brothers, with one hand 
on the other's knee, would talk over the lit- 
tle family matters, recount their blessings, 
and confirm each other in their faith, while 
an occasional laugh would reveal the fact 
that behind the feeble voice of the invalid 
was a witty mind and genial heart. 

It was one of the pleasures of Naliant that 
Mr. Lawrence was within driving distance 
of his brother, who always passed the sum- 
mer at Swampscott. But in the summer of 
1885 the drives to Swampscott were sad 
ones ; for William was slowly sinking, and 
was able only at times to " whisper that he 
had company always, for the angel of the 
Lord encampeth round about them that fear 
Him, and delivereth them." 

On the 20th of September he peacefully 
fell asleep, and three days later his body was 
taken from the memorial church at Long- 
wood to Mount Auburn. 

His brother, the last surviving member of 
his father's family, returned to Waban Farm 
to write : " Farewell, dear brother, until we 
meet again in the presence of God and his 



278 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

angels, and of those whom we have loved and 
who have gone before." 

Again followed the routine-calls upon the 
sick, with the day's text, " Be of good cour- 
age, and He shall strengthen your heart ; " 
sleepless nights after days of depression ; 
and in spite of rapidly increasing blindness, 
horseback rides, and activities in many inter- 
ests. On Thanksgiving Day there was the 
usual family gathering. " We played games, 
we older ones joined in them all ; blind man's 
buff, puss in the corner, ' contra-dance,' etc. 
My heart was very sad, but I concealed it." 
With Christmas comes the thought : " There 
can be but few more Christmas Days for me 
on earth, for the lights are fading out for 
me ; my sight has become dim with the eye 
which remains ; the other sees not at all." 

Three weeks later he records : — 

" Januar}'^ 18, 1886. My dear wife tells me, 
before we are uj), of the decision to operate 
on my eye at once. Dr. Derby was here yes- 
terday and advised it. Dr. Hodges came 
this morning. God my Father give me forti- 
tude to bear it all, and faith in his goodness 
now and evermore." 

The next day the operation took place suc- 
cessfully. Mr. Lawrence met the trial with 



LAST YEARS. 279 

great calmness, and endured the darkness 
of several weeks with patience. His first 
thought, a few minutes after the operation, 
was to have two checks sent to the Blind 
Asylum and to an industrial school. 

The calls of his many friends and of his 
children gave him great comfort. And he 
was particularly happy in the companion- 
ship of his friend and classmate, Charles H. 
Gates, who from this time devoted himself 
to Mr. Lawrence ; walking, driving, and 
reading with him. 

As soon as he was able to go out, he was 
so anxious to call upon all those who, during 
his confinement, had been sick or afflicted, 
that the strain on his sympathies had to be 
checked by the doctor. Nevertheless the 
pen of his wife or of Mr. Gates was set to 
work on messages of sympathy. 

The early summer was passed in visits to 
his children at their summer places in Bev- 
erly, Medford, and Newport, and then came 
the quiet of Nahant. The days were bright- 
ened by increasing clearness of vision, and 
by the restoration to health of his youngest 
daughter, who had been three years an in- 
valid and away from home. 

Sharp pains across the chest, and an in- 



280 AMOS A. LAWR.ENCE. 

creasing inability to walk, cramped his activ- 
ity. His birthday passed with the record : 

" Seventy-two. Sustain me, O God ! dur- 
ing: what remains to me of life. Enable me 
to be still of some use in this world. Give 
me courage to live cheerfully and to do my 
duty, to be helpful to my dear wife, who is so 
helpful to me, and to my dear children and 
grand-children." 

With a daughter and her family next door, 
and guests within and friends all about, he 
followed his routine of life, going to his office 
in Boston two or three times a week. " This 
text," he wrote, "has helped me much: 'Let 
us not be weary in well-doing, for in due 
season we shall reap if we faint not.' " 

On Sunday, August 22, he, his wife, and 
Mr. Gates formed the family in the house 
where ten or twelve young people used to sit 
at table. The day before, his friends. Dr. 
and Mrs. Slade, had left after a short visit. 
In the morning he went to church as usual, 
when, as he wrote his son later, " the 
preacher was a bright man, they say. Mr. 
Beal said his sermon was very powerful. 
Gates wondered what it was about. I tried- 
hard to admire it and be benefited by it, 
but think the air must have been poor in th 3 
church." 



LAST YEARS. 281 

But his heart was heavy with the sad 
downfall of a friend and neighbor whom he 
had lately visited in sympathy. He was 
restless and could think of nothing else ; 
*' sad, sad," he wrote and felt that afternoon. 
However, as usual, he made some calls and 
then walked home to tea. His son-in-law 
came in, and again the sad subject was 
touched upon ; soon the last visitor had gone 
and the house was closed. He went up-staira 
to his room, lighted his candle, and then a 
heavy thud upon the floor warned his wife 
that he had fallen. Before she could reach 
him the life had departed ; the heart which, 
through many active years, had beaten so 
strong in sympathy, was worn out and had 
ceased to do its work. 

Thirty-four years before his father had 
fallen asleep just as suddenly and as peace- 
fully, and in his journal Mr. Lawrence had 
then recorded : " May God grant to me as 
peaceful a release from this body as was 
granted to him! God of my fathers, help 
me to live a holy life ; help me by my ex- 
ample to lead those who look up to me in 
the heavenly life." 

His prayer was answered in life and death. 
On the 25th of August, less than a year 



282 AMOS A. LAWRENCE. 

after his brother's death, the church which 
they had built was crowded with relatives, 
friends, and citizens, rich and poor. 

The funeral service was read by the Rev. 
R. H. Howe, the rector of the church, and 
by Mr. Lawrence's nephew, the Rev. Arthur 
Lawrence. The body was carried from the 
church by eight nephews, and was then borne 
through Cambridge and by Lawrence Hall 
to Mount Auburn, where it was laid to rest 
in the Lawrence lot. Over it was placed a 
stone cut with a text of his own choice : " Be 
of good courage, and He shall strengthen 
your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Captain E. G., 180. 

Abbott, J. B., 97, 100. 

Abbott, Josiah G., 193. 

Abbott, Major H L., 193. 

Adams, Amos, 4. 

Adams, John Quincy, 19, 20. 

Agassiz Museum, 159-161. 

Agassiz, Professor, 158-161, 196. 

Alabama, 28. 

Almy, Patterson & Co., 26. 

Amory, Dr. R. , 251 . 

Amory, James S., 157, 212, 241, 

273, 274. 
Andover, 6, 9, 13, 16-18, 244. 
Andrew, Governor John A., 156, 

109, 170, 178, 184, 188, 189. 
Appleton Chapel, 157. 
Appleton, Marianne, 55. 
Appleton, Nathan, 124, 150. 
Appleton, Samuel, 71. 
Appleton, Sarah Elizabeth, 49, 

59. 
Appleton, Tliomas G., 218. 
Appleton, William, 49, 137, 151, 

159, 171, 211. 
Appleton in Wisconsin, 58, 71 ; 

university in, 71, 118. 
April 19, 1775, 1 ; aimiversary of , 

148. 
Arlington Mills, 249. 
Ashland Mills, 248. 
Associated Charities, 272. 
Association of Knit Goods Man- 
ufacturers, 249. 
Atchison, David R., 89. 
Athlone on Lake Ree, 43. 
Atlantic telegraph, 149. 
Auction sale of negroes, 163. 
Aunts Eliza and Mary, 4-6, 220, 

245. 
Baltimore, 171. 

Banks, Governor, 137, 143, 154, 
155, IGO. 



Bartlett, General WUliam F., 204. 

Beal, J. H., 280. 

Beaufort, 201. 

Bedford, 13, 15, 66, 236. 

Beecher, Rev. Mr., 253. 

Beggars, 31, 102. 

Bell, John, 156. 

Belmont, August, 200, 201. 

Benton, T. H., 86. 

Beverly, 279. 

Bigelow, Dr. Jacob, 160, 161. 

Bigelow, Judge G. T., 158. 

Blind Asylum, 279. 

Border life, 28. 

Boston, Old England, 41. 

Boston, riot in, 32. 

Bowditch, Dr. J. lugersoU, 230, 
232. 

Bowditch, William I., 189. 

Bradley's Hill, 156. 

Branscomb, C. H., 82, 114, 271. 

Brattle House, Cambridge, 173. 

Breckinridge, J. C, 156, 167. 

Brookline town meeting, 171. 

Brooks, assailant of Sumner, 141. 

Brougham, Lord, 41. 

Brown, John, 122-136, 138; his 
wife, 129, 132. 

Brown, John Carter, 81, 85. 

Buchanan, President, 105, 106, 
105, 160. 

Buford, General, 197. 

Bunker Hill, 2. 

Bunker Hill Monument Associa- 
tion, 251. 

Burnham, John A., 244. 

Burns, Anthony, 75. 

Cabot, Dr. Samuel, 97, 102, 106. 
Calhoun, J. C, 20. 
California, 188. 

Cambridge, 2, 152, 154, 157, 172, 
173. 



284 



INDEX. 



Carroll of CarroUton, 74. 

Gary, Captain, 180. 

Cas.s, Secretary, 165. 

Cavalry, 183, 186, 197. 

Cedar Creek, 198. 

Channing, Dr., 33. 

Chase, Secretary, 176, 196. 

Chauncy Place, 6. 

Chestnut Hill Reservoir, 217. 

Chever, Captain, 2G0. 

Christmas, 150, 151, 278. 

Church Congress, 233. 

Church, reconciliation of, 238 ; 
at Longwood, 2'10, 241 : at Na- 
hant, 239 ; St. Paul's, Boston, 
33, 55-57, 233, 240; St. Paul's, 
Brookline, 233. 

Cider, 147, 261. 

Clapp, Mrs., 265. 

Clay, Henry, 19. 

Cleveland, Henry, 18. 

Clifford, ex-Governor, 159. 

Cocheco Company, 50, 51, 247, 
270. 

Commonwealth Avenue, 62. 

Concord, 1, 17. 

Cooke, Dr. Edward, 72. 

Coolidge, Dr., 175. 

Corey's Hill, 149, 153. 

Cottage Farm, 60, 193, 216, 217, 
235 

Crawford, 37. 

Cricket, 153. 

Crittenden, Senator, 174. 

Crockett, David, 19. 

Crowninshield, Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Caspar, 186, 199. 

Cushing, Caleb, 134. 

Dahlgren, Paul, 192. 
Dale, Surgeon General, 260. 
Dana, Samuel T., 196. 
Dana, C. Susan, 35. 
Dauphin, the lost, 68, 69. 
Davis, Jefferson, 136. 
Derby, Dr., 278. 
Derby, Martha C, 265. 
Devens, U. S. Marshal, 75. 
Donaldson, Major, 18. 
Douglas, Senator, 154, 156. 
Drill, miUtary, 32, 168, 109, 171, 

172. 
Duffy, the blacksmith, 148, 213. 

Eastbnrn, Bishop, 234. 
Eliot, C. W., 232. 
Emancipation proclamation, 180, 
189. 



Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 31. 
Emigrants to Kansas, 81, 82, 85, 

91, 94, 102, 122. 
Episcopal City Mission Chapel, 

54. 
Episcopal Theological School, 

241-245, 275. 
Everett, Edward, 134, 154, 161, 

166. 

Factory girls, procession of, 18. 

Faneuil Hall, 134. 

Felton, President, 154, 155, 160, 

161, 196. 
Flags, delivery of, 206. 
Florence, letter from, 39. 
Forbes, John M.. 186, 189. 
Forbes, William H., 186. 
Fort Moultrie, 1G5 ; Pinckney, 

165 ; Warren, 178. 
Fox River Valley, Wisconsin, 69, 

71. 
Francis, Dr., 214. 
Francis, Ebenezer, 60. 
Franklin Academy, Andover, 6, 

8. 
Free State settlers, 102, 122. 
Free States, prosperity of, 180. 
Frye, John, 2G0. 
Fugitive Slave Law, 73. 
Funerals, 180, 197, 262, 268, 277, 

282. 

Gadsby's Hotel, 20, 21. 

Gardiner, Major, 184. 

Gardner, Governor, 161. 

Gates, Charles H., 18, 275, 279, 
280. 

Geary, Governor, 119, 124. 

Georgia, 28, 195. 

Gilraanton Mills, 248. 

Goodwin, Captain, 180. 

Grant, General, 194. 

Gray, Horace, 196. 

Green, Henry A., 193. 

Green, Dr. Samuel A., 246, 262- 
264. 

Green, Mrs. (Aimt Eliza), 261. 

Greene, Mr., 37. 

Griswold, Bishop, 55, 234. 

Griswold, Colonel, 193. 

Groton, 1, 4, 215, 260, 264 ; Acad- 
emy, 2 ; homestead, 4, 5, 66, 
147, 263, 204. 

Guild, Mrs., 225, 226. 

Hale. Charles, 160. 

Hale, Rev. Edward Everett, 271. 



INDEX. 



285 



Hallowell, Lieutenant - Colonel, 
190. 

Hallowell, Morris L., 189. 

Hillowell, Richard P., 189. 

Harper's Ferry, 123, 130, 131, 
136, 138. 

Hirrison, General, 27. 

Harvard College, 11 ; rebellion 
in, 12 ; class meetings, 154, 
275 ; presidents, 154, 161 ; com- 
mencement, 154; inauguration 
of president, 154, 155 ; libra- 
rian, 254 ; alumni, 230, 231 ; 
religious influences at, 242. 

Haven, Hon. S. G., 110. 

Hazard, Peter, 147, 262, 263. 

Hazard, Lucy, 263. 

Henson, Father, 74. 

Hichborn, Mr., 257. 

Higginson, Rev. Mr., 106. 

Hoar, E. Rock wood, 145, 159, 
160, 275, 276. 

Hodges, Dr. R. M., 273, 278. 

Holmes, Dr. O. W., 161. 

Home for Aged Men, 251. 

Hooper, S., 195, 196. 

Hopkins, President, 67, 234, 235. 

Howe, Rev. R. H., 282. 

Hughes, Tom, 258. 

Huntington, Rev. Dr., 142, 160. 

Inscriptions on library, 203, 204. 
Ipswich, mill at, 247, 248. 
Ireland, 43, 44. 
Italy, sketch of, 39, 40. 

Jackson, Patrick, 78. 

Jackson, President, 17, 18, 21, 

22. 
Jarvis Field, 215. 
Johnson, Andrew, 174. 
Joy, J. D. W., 51. 

Kansas, 75-80, 86, 88; election 
in, 92, 93 ; rifles for, 95, 97, 98, 
135 ; invasion from Missouri, 
99, 107 ; not to resist the au- 
thority of the United States, 
103,104; freedom assured. 111, 
112; education in, 115, 117, 
119, 121 ; visit to, 274. 

Kansas City, Missouri, 84, 87. 

Kansas River, 82. 

Kentucky, 174. 

Kimball, Moses, 273. 

King, Colonel, 205. 

Knit goods, American, 247-249. 

Kossuth, 62. 



Lawrence, A. & A., 3, 29, 2G9. 

Lawrence, Abbott, 3, 210. 

Lawrence, Amory A., 257. 

Lawrence, Amos, 3, 4, 34, 66, 67, 
69, 136, 204. 

Lawrence, Amos Adams, birth 
and name, 4 ; Groton, 4, 5, 6 ; 
school troubles and resources, 
6, 7, 8 ; character in boyhood, 
9, 12 ; resolutions, 10 ; college, 

II ; rustication, 13 ; Bedford, 
13, 15 ; Andover, 13, 16 ; visits 
Washington, 18-22 ; plan of 
life, 23, 24; journey through 
the West and South, 26-29; 
begins business life, 30 ; even- 
ing occupations, 31 ; service 
as iireman, 32 ; military duty, 
32 ; driU, 32, 33 ; reUgion, 33, 
34 ; European letters, 36-48 ; 
Rome, 36 ; Florence, 39 ; Eng- 
land, 41 ; Ireland, 44 ; Father 
Mathew, 44, 45, 47 ; marriage, 
49 ; Mason & Lawrence, 50 ; 
business habits, 51 ; success, 
52 ; charitable and public in- 
terests, 53, 54 ; letter to Prof. 
Sales, 54 ; confirmation, 55 ; 
Sunday-school work, 56; letters 
to William Le Baron, 57, 59 ; 
business responsibilities, 57, 
58 ; Cottage Farm, 60, 61, 62 ; 
athletics, 63, 64 ; sleep, 65 ; 
Lynn, 66 ; deaths of his sister 
and brother Robert, 66 ; death 
of his father, 67, 68; invest- 
ment in Wisconsin lands, 69, 
70 ; establishes a college in 
Appleton, Wisconsin, 71, 72 ; 
position on the slavery ques- 
tion, 73-76 ; connection with 
emigrant aid companies, 78-87; 
letter to Mr. Benton, 86; to 
Mr. Atchison, 89 ; to President 
Pierce, 92, 95, 104 ; purchase 
of rifles for Kansas sufferers, 
95-98, lOG ; letters to Dr. Rob- 
inson, 96, 100, 103 ; letter to a 
Quaker, 108 ; to a citizen of 
Kansas, 109, 111 ; efforts for 
release of Dr. Robinson, 110, 

III ; work in saving Kansas to 
freedom, 113, 114; connection 
with education in Kansas, 115 
-121 ; acquaintance with John 
Brown, 122-130, 138 ; extracts 
from journal, 131-134 ; letters 
to Governor Wise, and Jelfer- 



286 



INDEX. 



eon Davis, 134, 136; politics, 
139, 140, 144; nominated for 
Governor, 140, 145 ; reception 
of Mr. Sumner, 141, 142, 143 ; 
bis children, 147 ; visits to the 
old homestead, 147 ; relaxa- 
tions, 148, 149, 150; extracts 
from journal, 148-1G5 ; treas- 
urer of Harvard College, 157 ; 
interest in the foundation of 
the Agassiz Museum, 158-161 ; 
journey in the South, 1G3, 164 ; 
at ■Washington as one of a 
committee, 1C6, 167 ; speech 
on Washington's birthday, 
167 ; organizes drill clubs, 168, 
169, 171, 171! ; active days, 172, 
173 ; ofter of service, 176, 177 ; 
letter to Robert M. Mason, 
179 ; Second Kegiment of Cav- 
alry, 184-1S9 ; interest in the 
first colored regiment, 190 ; 
letters to his wife, and his 
cousin, 191, 192 ; journal ex- 
tracts, 193-197 ; mention of 
his mother, 190 ; notice of 
Col. Lowell's death, 197; letter 
to New York Times, 200; 
prayer at close of the year, 
201 ; inscriptions • on library, 
203, 204 ; letter to Mr. Mason, 
204 ; final war scene, 206 ; in- 
creasing years, 207, 208 ; letter 
to his uncle, 209, 210; daily 
habits, 212, 213; interest in 
town improvements, 214, 215 ; 
correction of public annoy- 
ances, 215, 210 ; improvement 
of Cottage Farm, 216, 217; 
home at Waban Farm, 217 ; 
life at Nahaut, 217, 218,219; 
letter to his son, 219 ; training 
of his children, 221-225 ; letter 
to a niece, 225 ; opinions on 
education of women, 227 ; 
treatment of servants, 227 ; 
sense of kinship, 227 ; brother- 
ly affection, 228, 229; inter- 
ested in erection of Memorial 
Hall, Cambridge, 230-233 ; re- 
ligious and church life, 233 ; re- 
gard for ministers, 233-236 ; 
avoidance of sectarianism, 236- 
23S ; letter to his daughter, 
238 ; connection with church at 
Nahant, 230 ; church at Long- 
wood . 240, 241 ; Episcopal Theo- 
logical School, 241-245 ; health, 



246, 254 ; a siuruner in Europe, 
246 ; a manufacturer, 247-249 ; 
business habits, 250, 251; public 
interests, 251 ; lending money, 
252, 253 ; favorite form of be- 
neficence, 253. 254 ; letters of 
advice, 254, 255 ; marriages of 
his children, 255 ; illness in 
his family, 25C ; visits to sick 
neighbors, 256, 257 ; failing 
eyesight, 257, 264, 266; in- 
terest in the Rugby experi- 
ment, 258 ; overseer of Harvard 
College, 258 ; views on taxing 
property of women, 258-260 ; 
memories of Andover and G-ro- 
ton, 260; letter to his aimt, 
261 ; description of coimtry 
funeral, 262, 2G3 ; out-of-door 
life, 264 ; visits, 265 ; sorrows, 
266-268 ; new business respon- 
sibilities, 269, 270; phUan- 
thropic interests, 270, 271; 
sense of loneliness, 272 ; visits, 
273 ; journey to Kansas, 274 ; 
death of friends, 274 ; meeting 
of college class, 275, 276 ; death 
of his brother, 277 ; operation 
for cataract, 278, 279 ; the last 
Sunday, 280, 281 ; his death, 
281 ; the funeral, 282. 

Lawrence, Mrs. Amos A., 60, 155, 
191, 221,240, 256, 272, 280, 281. 

Lawrence, Amos Amory, 249. 

Lawrence, Arthur, 171, 201, 282. 

Lawrence, Frank, 201. 

Lawrence, James, 159, 232, 264. 

Lawrence, John, 4. 

Lawrence, Luther, 3. 

Lawrence, Mary (Mrs. Amory), 
124, 148, 193, 194, 266-268, 275. 

Lawrence, Robert M., 66. 

Lawrence, Samuel, Corporal and 
Major, 1, 2. 

Lawrence, Samuel, 3. 

Lawrence, Susan, 34, 66. 

Lawrence, William, 3, 210. 

Lawrence, William R.,32,33, 35, 
68, 151, 228, 229, 240, 276, 277. 

Lawrence, Kansas, 84, 99, 107, 
117, 121. 

Lawrence, Massachusetts, 4. 

Lawrence Hall, Cambridge, 243- 
245. 

Lawrence University, Wisconsin, 
72, 237. 

Le Baron, William, 57, 59, 255. 

Le Compte, Judge, 107. 



INDEX. 



287 



Lee, General surrender of, 

203. 
Lse, Henry, 155, ITO, 183,230, 

232. 
Letters, European, 36. 
Lexington, anniversary of battle, 

lis. 

Liberia, 53, 74. 

Lincoln, ex-Governor, 134. 

Lincoln, President, 15G, 200, 203, 

204. 
Little, James L. & Co., 2C9. 
Longfellow, Professor, 124, 142, 

159, 195, 218. 
Longwood, GO, 67, 147, 212, 216, 

229, 239, 272. 
Loring, Rev. Bailey, 9. 
Loring, Charles G., 230. 
Lothrop, Dr., 33, 69, 234. 
Lowell, Jackson's visit to, 18. 
Lowell, Charles R., 185-188, 197- 

199. 
Lowell, J. A., 159. 
Lowell, J. Russell, 276. 
Lyman, Theodore, 231. 
Lynn, 66, 108; bay, 218. 

Marion, 155. 

Mason & Lawrence, 50. 

Mason, Charles, 34, 35 ; wife of, 
66. 

Mason, Jeremiah, 34. 

Mason, Philip, 195. 

Mason, Robert M., 35, 50, 51, 
151, 179, 204, 243. 

Massachusetts, 174, IP ^ 

Massachusetts Emigiants' Aid 
Association, 78. 

Massachusetts General Hospital, 
53. 

Massachusetts Historical Society, 
25, 273. 

Massachusetts Hospital Life 
Company, 251. 

Massachusetts Society for Pro- 
moting Agricultur3, 251. 

Massachusetts Society of the Cin- 
cinnati, 251. 

Massachusetts Soldiers' Fund, 
174. 

Mather, Henry B., 51, 274. 

Mathew, Father, 44-48, 234. 

McClellan, General, 185. 

Mcllvaine, Bishop of Ohio, 54. 

McLean Asylum, 53. 

McPherson, General, 196. 

Meade, General, 193. 

Medford, 279. 



Melbourne, Lord, 42. 
Memorial Hall, 172, 231-233. 
Merrimac, The, 3. 
Methodists, 70, 71 , 260. 
Miles, Major Charles H., 202. 
Milldam, Tlie, 60, 62, 213. 
Mills, Mrs. James K., 265. 
Missouri, 77, 89, 94, 95, 98. 
Mormonism, 271. 
Morton, Dr., 162. 
Motley, Mrs. Lothrop, 124. 
Mudge, E. R., 231. 

Nahant, 66, 195, 196, 217-219, 
225, 235, 239, 274, 276, 279. 

National Association of Cotton 
Manufacturers and Planters, 
249. 

Nebraska, 75, 79. 

New England Emigrant Aid Com- 
pany, 79, 80, 92, 94, 102, 106, 
108, 113. 

New England Trust Company, 
251. 

Newport, 181, 279. 

New York Times, The, 200. 

Nichols, Mrs., 102. 

Norfolk Navy Yard, 171. 

North Carolina, 179. 

North Elba, 129, 134. 

Nute, Rev. Mr., 117, 119. 

Ohio, 27. 

Osgood, Captain, 9. 

Osgood, Rev. Dr., 155. 

Osawatomie, Kansas, 109, 124, 

128, 130, 131. 
Pacific Mills, 269, 270. 
Packard, Professor, 80, 234. 
Paddock, Bishop, 235. 
Paducah, 28. 
Paige, J. W., 196. 
Palfrey, Dr., 234. 
Papanti, 186. 
Parker, F. E., 153, 154. 
Parker, Judge Joel, 155. 
Parker, Susanna, 1, 2. 
Peabody, Dr., 234. 
Peirce, Professor Benjamin, 196. 
Pemberton Mill, 163. 
Pemberton Square, 49, 56, 173. 
Perkins, Lieutenant, 181. 
Perry, Dr., 142. 
Philadelphia, 19. 
Photograph, 161. 
Pierce, Franklin, 21, 22, 67, 88, 

92, 95, 9S, 103, 104, 107, 111, 

137. 



288 



INDEX. 



Pierce, Mrs., 67, 111. 

Pittsburgh, 26. 

Poiueroy, Mr. S. C, 85, 96, 110, 

116, 120. 
Posters, 215, 216. 
Pottawatomie, 123, 133, 138. 
Potter, Dr. Henry C, 235. 
Prescott, Colonel, 1. 
Prince of Wales, 155. 
Putnam, J. P., 241. 

Quincy, Josiah, 181. 
Quincy, President, 12, 142, 154, 
155, 161. 

Radstock, Lord, 160. 

Railroad bridges, 171 ; whistles, 

216. 
Rainsford Island, 26. 
Rand, Edward S., 241. 
Rebellion, final events of, 201, 

202. 
Recruiting, 1S6, 187. 
Reed, Benjamin T., 241, 244. 
Reeder, Governor, 93, 94, 98. 
Regatta, 149. 
Regiments, the Sixth, 170; the 

Fifty-fourth, 190; return of, 

205, 206. 
Revere, Paul, 175. 
Richards, George, 61. 
Richards, Giles, 4, 208. 
Richards, Sarah, 4. 
Richardson, Mr., 231. 
Riches, 24. 

Richmond surrendered, 202. 
Rifles for Kansas, 95-98, 99, 131, 

135. 
Robeson, WiUiam R., 273, 270. 
Robie, Rev. Mr., 262. 
Robinson, Dr. Charles, 83, 94, 

90, 99, 103, 205, 107, 110-113, 

115, 117, 119, 120, 122-124, 130, 

143, 274 ; his wife, 111. 
Rogers, Henry B., 230, 265. 
Rogers, Miss Laura, 265. 
Rome, 36. 
Rugby, 242. 
Russell, George, 181. 
Russell, Henry S., 180. 
Russell, Le Baron, 189. 
Rustication, 13. 

St. John's Memorial Chapel, 243. 
Sales, Professor, 54. 
Salignac, Colonel, 168. 
Salmon Falls Company, 52, 150, 
ai7, 270. 



Sanitary Commission, 178. 

Sanders bequest, 160, 231. 

Saugus Hills, 218. 

Savauuah, 163. 

Scott, General, 167. 

Sears, Mr. David, 60, 159, 238. 

Sedgwick, Major-Geueral, 194. 

Serenade, 148. 

Seward, Mr., 167, 169, 203, 204. 

Shaiuion, Wilson, 98, 99. 

Shaw, Chief Justice, 158, 159. 

Shaw, F. G., 189. 

Shaw, Quincy, 181. 

Shaw, Colonel Robert G., 190. 

Sheridan, General, 198. 

Sherman's March to the Sea, 
201. 

Shurtleff, Dr., 181, 

Skating, 62, 63, 148, 150, 245. 

Slade, Dr., 2S0. 

Smith, Gerritt, 105. 

Smith, Mayor, 76. 

Smith, the Misses of Glaston- 
bury, 258. 

Soldiers, call for, 169 ; Massa- 
chusetts, 186. 

Solferino, 153. 

South Carolina, 164, 165. 

Southern prisoners, 178. 

Sparks, President, 155, 159, 161. 

Spiritualism, 196. 

Spring, Professor, 94. 

Steamships, Boston to New Or- 

Stearns, George L., 129, 131, 189. 
Stearns, John F., 13. 
Stevenson, General, 194. 
Stone, Goodwin, 195. 
Stone, Rev. J. S., D. D., 33, 153, 

212, 234, 243. 
Study, methods of, 13. 
Subscribers for arms, 97. 
Suffrage, universal, 259, 260. 
Sumner, Charles, 139, 140-143, 

146, 154, 167, 195, 196. 
Sumner, George, 142. 
Suttle, Colonel, 75. 
Swampscott, 182, 276, 277. 

Tariff, 249. 

Taxation, 258-260. 

T.aylor, Father, 234. 

Tennessee, 174. 

Thanksgiving, 156, 209, 210, 211, 

266, 278. 
Thaver, Eli, 77, 78, 81, 83, 85, 

113,114,271. 
Thompson, Newell A., 149. 









o.^ 



.^9. 



5 






0_^^ 






.V 






V ^^}/;;% '%> 



V 



"^..^'* 









r^- 















// 



c 



.0^ . ^ 






.<^ 



o 



%. 



o.^^ 






•^^0^ 



o 



^^„ A^ 



^'^/. .^ 



r^^ 












..> 



.^^ ^- 



^o. "'. 



•■u 



'•^. 



^^^ 









A^ 



<. 



# 



0«" 



^\^ 



.^•'^ 



t^. 



.s\< 






oX^ 



,<?-" '-^ 






^ ^ 



^^ 






,^v 



r.S^ <^,. 



<*. 






'^, 



'cP 






-^^ 



G^^ 









^^. 



xV^ 



'^:r-4 



s>' 



xf 



,.^' 

/% 






'-6. 



'-1=!. 



<> 



.# 



rO'^ 





"<^^^^ 












^ 






0^ 




'"'<?• 


^. 




9^ 




9<. 


% 


.*^- 


)^ 




0^ 




0^ 




% 


^ 

"/ 




9^. 




Q<. 


\ 
' %, 


a\- 


)^ 




0^^ 




,0^ 




'^' 






©<., 




" '■ / 




.^^^ 








^/^ 




-y 


^^ 



^^ 



^<f^. 






av 



<. 



cP- 



^/.O^ 



, V 



.^^ ^-. 



.sx^"-' 






•^, 






^% .# 



-A^' 



Q-, 



% 



^^0^ 

,^^ O^. 



'^^,. 0^' 



„/ % 



